cheeky
Americanadjective
-
rude or disrespectful, especially in a playful or witty way; saucy; bold.
With his trademark cheeky glint in his eye, he told me to get lost.
A high dose of cheeky slapstick keeps the narrative rolling along.
-
Informal. taken or done for sheer self-indulgent pleasure, usually spontaneously and in defiance of convention or normal restraint.
This dish makes a great small dessert bowl, perfect for a cheeky scoop of ice cream.
While in London for work I went for a cheeky spa break.
-
Slang. (of shorts, underwear, etc.) incompletely or scantily covering the buttocks.
My new swimsuit has a retro triangle white top and a teal cheeky bottom.
noun
adjective
Usage
What does cheeky mean? Cheeky means bold, brash, and a bit rude, but also maybe a little playful and amusing. Cheeky is an adjective that is typically used to describe a person or their actions or comments. It is most commonly used in the U. K., but it is frequently used elsewhere as well. Example: During her speech, she managed to sneak in a cheeky remark about her previous employer.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of cheeky
Explanation
If you're being cheeky you're being brash or irreverent. If you're a cheeky child, you're probably just being impudent and disrespectful — and you're probably going to get in trouble. Cheeky has shades of meaning according to the degree of offense taken, and this may vary between British and American English. At the offensive end are the synonyms rude, disrespectful, and insulting. Less offensive are sassy, arrogant, and shameless. Rounding out the cheeky spectrum are bold, assertive, and daring, which are about getting noticed but without causing injury.
Vocabulary lists containing cheeky
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
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The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
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Born a Crime
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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.
See Examples For:
Visit Norway, the Scandinavian country’s tourism agency, responded to Trump’s insult with a cheeky campaign celebrating its spectacular public restrooms, declaring that Norway makes “shithouses great again.”
From Salon ● Oct. 31, 2026
And the modern compulsion to text cheeky little jokes alluding to the scheme, once again, claims new victims.
From Slate ● Oct. 31, 2026
When I ask what people’s responses have been so far to her book’s cheeky title, she says, “They just laugh. A lot of them are just like, ‘Well, I have to read that.’”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 21, 2026
A spokesperson from the Spirit of Normandy Trust, a charity for veterans, said: "Henry was a great character, with a cheeky smile that endeared him to everyone he met."
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026
I'm wondering why science is a better discussion topic than politics, but I don’t say anything because that would be entirely too cheeky.
From "Dread Nation" by Justina Ireland
They’ll also tailor show topics to the cities they’re in or make the dialogue cheekier than what you can say on air.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 29, 2025
Mythology offers a far cheekier explanation for the Cat's absence.
From Salon ● Jan. 21, 2023
But when she lifted the lid on the box and removed the red-and-white checkered wax paper, I realized there was perhaps a cheekier motivation: She wanted to conduct an experiment.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 18, 2022
Another forum had a cheekier explanation for why it was banning posts about ransomware: “if it ran somewhere, then you should probably go catch it?”
From The Verge ● Dec. 9, 2021
Well, if you ain't cheekier 'n ol' cheek!
From Main-Travelled Roads by Hamlin Garland
What do you think America will witness first: a female president or our begrudging acknowledgment of Britain’s cheekiest pop icon?
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 26, 2025
Maurizio Sarri’s side took the lead in the 21st minute with a fantastic assist from Sergej Milinković-Savić, who sent Immobile clear with the cheekiest of backheel flicks and the forward coolly slotted home.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 31, 2022
However, the honor for the cheekiest Easter egg in the main titles belongs to Steve Zahn, who plays Mark.
From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2021
I looked at two of the cheekiest languages on earth - Yiddish and Punjabi - to see if they had any equivalents.
From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2013
All I heard was Mrs Pratchett’s dreadful high-pitched voice behind me screeching, ‘This one’s the cheekiest of the bloomin’ lot, ’Eadmaster!
From "Boy: Tales of a Childhood" by Roald Dahl
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
