chic
Americanadjective
noun
-
style and elegance, especially in dress.
Paris clothes have such chic.
-
stylishness; modishness.
the chic of the firstnighters.
-
casual and understated style, as in dress or décor, that expresses a specified trendy lifestyle or activity.
Black-rimmed glasses bring some geek chic to your outfit.
adjective
noun
-
stylishness, esp in dress; modishness; fashionable good taste
-
any of various fashion movements based on a particular lifestyle
radical chic
geek chic
Pronunciation
The spelling pronunciation is considered nonstandard except when used facetiously.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of chic
1855–60; < French < German Schick skill
Explanation
Something that's chic is fashionable or stylish. If you see a chic outfit in the window of a chic boutique, you might imagine that buying it will make you as chic as a fashion model. Chic can also be used as an noun to mean a specific type of stylishness or coolness, like a downtown urban chic (skinny jeans, perhaps), or nerdy chic (big glasses). Chic is a French word, so remember, whether it's an adjective or a noun, to pronounce it as “sheek” and not “chick,” so you can sound as chic as you look!
Vocabulary lists containing chic
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
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English Words Derived from French, List 5
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Lucky Broken Girl
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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.
Juliette Lewis will spend the majority of the film’s runtime inanimate; a chic vegetable that her friends draw lipstick on and talk to, as if she were as normal and responsive as any other day.
From Salon • Jun. 10, 2026
Gone are the gritty warehouse districts, the nocturnal desolation of downtown and the shabby chic of South Beach.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 15, 2026
It was a blur of champagne, full sized In-N-Out cheeseburgers, chic ushers wearing Dior uniforms with snug grey sweaters and slacks that pooled perfectly at the leg.
From Los Angeles Times • May 15, 2026
And singer Rose, a multiple Grammy nominee this year for "APT," her banger collab with Bruno Mars, wore a chic strapless black dress with a high slit and an outsized bird brooch at her waist.
From Barron's • May 5, 2026
They were universally unfashionable—not retro chic, just old, and they smelled old too.
From "How Dare the Sun Rise" by Sandra Uwiringiyimana
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.
