sporty
Americanadjective
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flashy; showy.
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smart in dress, behavior, etc.
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like or befitting a sportsman.
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dissipated; fast.
a sporty crowd.
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designed for or suitable for sport.
adjective
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(of a person) fond of sport or outdoor activities
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(of clothes) having the appearance of sportswear
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(of a car) having the performance or appearance of a sports car
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of sporty
Explanation
Look down. Are you wearing sneakers? Ready to kick a ball, shoot some hoops, or go watch a game? If so, you’re sporty! Sporty things are related to athletics. You are sporty if you love sports, dress like you love sports, or behave like a good sport by saying “good game” even when you lose. Sporty can also describe something fast and flashy, like a sporty red convertible. The oldest recorded meaning of sporty is "sportsmanlike," from the late nineteenth century.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
ED: Sporty edge was totally your style in college.
From Los Angeles Times • May 7, 2025
Sporty M3gan looked like she was ready for tennis.
From New York Times • Jan. 17, 2023
Melanie Chisholm, AKA Sporty Spice, released her first solo LP 20 years ago.
From The Guardian • Nov. 27, 2019
The scene basically involved him saying a quick hello to Sporty, Scary, Ginger, Baby and Posh while exchanging kisses in the corridor.
From BBC • May 22, 2019
As Senator Sporty Jones stood on the Sawyerville platform and watched No. 14 vanishing round a curve, his rage against the Superintendent cooled somewhat and hardened into a determination to make somebody pay.
From The Short Line War by Merwin-Webster
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
