bon ton
Americannoun
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good or elegant form or style.
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something regarded as fashionably correct.
The bon ton in this circle is to dress well and know influential people.
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fashionable society.
noun
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sophisticated manners or breeding
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fashionable society
Etymology
Origin of bon ton
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.
But then, the bon ton, not content with padding only bums, moved the bustle round to the tummy at the front.
From Slate ● Jul. 21, 2025
Bullock's Wilshire, tony Los Angeles department store, went after war-workers' dollars; Macy's, New York's people's store, waved farewell to the bon ton trade.
From Time Magazine Archive
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The book reports Lucius' ad ventures with "butlered bon ton."
From Time Magazine Archive
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But Mr Bhosh repressed himself with heroic magnanimity, for he reflected that she was the affianced of his dearest friend and that it was contrary to bon ton to poach another's jam.
From A Bayard From Bengal Being some account of the Magnificent and Spanking Career of Chunder Bindabun Bhosh,... by Hurry Bungsho Jabberjee
Indeed, feeling of any kind did not suit the present age: it was not bon ton; and in some degree always made a man ridiculous.
From Coningsby by Benjamin Disraeli, Earl of Beaconsfield
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.