fop
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of fop
1400–50; late Middle English foppe, fop; akin to fob 2
Explanation
If you know someone who's obsessed with how he looks and what he's wearing, you can call him a fop. If you're a fop, you make sure you're always well dressed. A fop spends hours grooming himself in front of the mirror and spends a lot of money on nice clothes. You might also call him a "dandy" or a "clotheshorse." The word fop meant "foolish person" in the mid-1600s and was probably related to the now-obsolete verb of the same name, meaning "make a fool of." By 1670, a fop was a fool who was focused specifically on his clothing.
Vocabulary lists containing fop
Essential Three-Letter Words, Part 3
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The Shakespeare Stealer
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Americanah
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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.
Creel, infusing every line reading with delectable originality, plays the Prince as a preening fop who excuses his behavior by explaining to Cinderella late in the musical that he’s meant to be charming, not sincere.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 3, 2023
It led to him being described as a "red-socked fop" by Labour's former deputy prime minister John Prescott.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2022
The Big 12 was next with four teams, though it marked the second straight week the league didn't have at least one team in the fop five.
From Fox News ● Feb. 7, 2022
“The vultures and hyenas always share their carcass meal,” says Bobby with a pursed grin, but he’ll be damned if this fop will feast off his diminished status.
From New York Times ● Mar. 20, 2016
Wasn’t he really a snob, and a fop, and frivolous on serious occasions, as she had once told him during a quarrel?
From "Abel's Island" by William Steig
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.
