- comparative of fancy.
fancier
Americannoun
-
a person having a liking for or interest in something; enthusiast.
a fancier of sports cars.
-
a person who breeds animals, plants, etc., especially in order to improve the strain.
a horse fancier.
noun
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a person with a special interest in something
-
a person who breeds plants or animals, often as a pastime
a bird fancier
Etymology
Origin of fancier
Explanation
Someone crazy about something can be called a fancier. If you join a club to promote the well-being of pheasants, someone might describe you as "a pheasant fancier." That just means you like pheasants a lot. The word fancier can refer to someone who fancies (or really likes) something — such as dogs or wine or chocolate. It can also be used to describe someone who breeds a particular animal, with the intent of improving the breed. Make sure you don’t confuse this word with the adjective fancy, which has a comparative form that is also spelled “fancier.” That fancier would be used in the sense of “more ornamental” or “more extravagant” — as in "My prom dress is fancier than yours."
Vocabulary lists containing fancier
Vocabulary Video Contest (2013) - List 1
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2014 Vocabulary Video Contest (A-L)
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Vocab Video Contest (2016) - List 3
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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 he had uncles, aunts and cousins who lived in a much fancier part of the city.
From Salon ● Jul. 5, 2026
“They know exactly how to get something out of the cheapest models possible. When they get into trouble, they temporarily jump up to a higher price point with a fancier model.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026
In general, the growing popularity of cold brews among young people could be seen as an example of so-called 'premiumisation', where businesses make their products look fancier to justify higher prices.
From BBC ● May 28, 2026
“They branded software engineers to be fancier and called them members of technical staff,” Rechtman said.
From MarketWatch ● May 9, 2026
It sure looks a lot fancier on television.
From "Like Vanessa" by Tami Charles
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.
