adjective
-
neat and spruce in dress and bearing; trim
-
small and nimble
Other Word Forms
- dapperly adverb
- dapperness noun
- undapper adjective
Etymology
Origin of dapper
1400–50; late Middle English daper < Middle Dutch dapper nimble, stalwart; cognate with German tapfer brave
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.
So all of a sudden it’s like, “Wait, that’s the same guy. Now he’s looking dapper with a mid-Atlantic accent.”
From Los Angeles Times
Rakell Foye supplied the period costumes—the Devil got a dapper suit and hat, and Robert’s outfit changed from country-boy drab to a slick purple outfit when he became the Delta King.
For nearly 20 years, therecord shop has offered Echo Park a rocker-themed hodgepodge of rare vinyl, vintage band tees and dapper haircuts from its singular barber shop chair.
From Los Angeles Times
Wardlaw looks like a skinny Santa Claus with long white hair and beard, but he was dressed somberly Saturday night, like a dapper Scrooge after his epiphany.
From Los Angeles Times
The dapper youth in a hat was photographed outside the museum that Sunday and went viral on social media, prompting theories about his identity.
From BBC
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.
