well-to-do
Americanadjective
adjective
Etymology
Origin of well-to-do
First recorded in 1815–25
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.
Lots of well-to-do folks say that L.A. has gone to hell in a handbasket.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 2026
The exclusive complex, in classic picture-postcard Switzerland scenery, has been welcoming leaders and the well-to-do and for more than 150 years.
From Barron's ● Jun. 16, 2026
David Lindsay-Abaire’s “The Balusters” is a piquant comedy satirizing the hollowness and hypocrisy of well-to-do do-gooders on a neighborhood homeowners association board.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 2026
In the early days, such caps would affect only a small number of well-to-do retirees.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 16, 2026
Here lived the big-time politicians, the monied brewery families, the well-to-do immigrants who had been able to come over first-class instead of steerage.
From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith
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.
