streetwise
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of streetwise
Explanation
If you're streetwise, you can survive even tough city environments—you have plenty of knowledge and experience. Your streetwise friend can help you navigate New York City's subway system. The informal adjective streetwise is good for describing people who are resourceful, smart, and a little bit sly. When your cousin comes to visit from his isolated house in the country, he'll want a streetwise guide like you to show him around your urban neighborhood. The origin of streetwise is uncertain, although we know it was coined in the U.S. some time during the mid-20th 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.
Blankfein, who is retired and in recent weeks has been promoting his memoir Streetwise: Getting to and through Goldman Sachs, said he missed being involved in what he termed crisis moments.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 26, 2026
Streetwise spent the year documenting these three major market themes, and the wild ups and downs they sparked.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 28, 2025
Follow him on X External link and subscribe to his Barron’s Streetwise podcast External link.
From Barron's • Oct. 10, 2025
Streetwise was what he needed to be after his family moved to Wythenshawe, the huge social housing estate on the edge of Manchester.
From BBC • Dec. 6, 2023
"Tiny: Streetwise Revisited," an update of her 1988 monograph, was one of two books Mark completed just before her death.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 18, 2015
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.
