adjective
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neat and spruce in dress and bearing; trim
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small and nimble
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of dapper
1400–50; late Middle English daper < Middle Dutch dapper nimble, stalwart; cognate with German tapfer brave
Explanation
A neatly and stylishly dressed man can be described as dapper. If you like to wear a well-made fedora, you appreciate clothes. Place a brightly colored feather in the brim and you’re dapper. Dapper is a Germanic word coming from a Middle Dutch word that meant "strong," "quick," or "nimble." Think of the words dashing, jaunty and spiffy when you think of dapper as these are all near synonyms. All of these words are used specifically to describe men. Although there doesn't seem to be a parallel term for a well-dressed woman, if you call her chic or stylish, she will be pleased.
Vocabulary lists containing dapper
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "D"
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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.
But Eddie was the father that Daphne loved most, and the reunion—Eddie is now a dapper, personable gentleman of 76—has left both deeply emotional and eager to reconnect.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 29, 2026
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.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 9, 2025
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 • Nov. 9, 2025
The genial, dapper TV host with the gleaming smile and perfectly coiffed hair had hosted two local TV game shows in L.A. before going national with “What’s This Song?”
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 15, 2025
The bricklayer turned around to survey the plump but dapper dude from the East.
From "Cheaper by the Dozen" by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey
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.
