foxy
Americanadjective
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foxlike; cunning or crafty; slyly clever.
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yellowish or reddish brown, as of the color of the common red fox.
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Slang.
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sexually appealing; attractive.
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stylish; modish.
a foxy outfit.
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exciting and appealing, as a place, entertainment, or the like.
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discolored or foxed.
pages of a book that had become foxy.
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(of a wine) having the pronounced flavor natural to native American grape varieties, as that of fox grapes or of Concord or Catawba grapes.
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(especially of a painting) having excessively warm tones; containing too much red.
adjective
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of or resembling a fox, esp in craftiness
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smelling strongly like a fox
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of a reddish-brown colour
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(of paper, wood, etc) spotted, esp by mildew
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(of wine) having the flavour of fox grapes
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(of oats) having a musty smell as a result of getting wet, fermenting, and drying out
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slang sexy; sexually attractive
Usage
What does foxy mean? Foxy is most commonly used as a slang word for sexy or attractive, as in I want to look really foxy for my reunion. Because it can sound a bit silly or old-fashioned, it’s sometimes used in a way that’s intended to be somewhat ironic or humorous (though this is not always the case.)Foxy can also be used to describe someone or something as clever or crafty, as in He’s a foxy competitor—don’t underestimate him. However, the expression clever as a fox is more commonly used to mean the same thing. Much less commonly, foxy can describe something as being a reddish-brown color that resembles the fur of a red fox, as in I like that foxy orange one. Example: You look positively foxy—what’s the occasion?
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of foxy
1520–30; 1960–65 foxy for def. 3; fox + -y 1
Explanation
People who are foxy are either sneaky or good looking. If you say someone is foxy, unless she has a long skinny nose and is stealing your eggs, you probably mean she’s hot. If your dog is foxy, he might resemble a pointy-nosed fox, or he may be a wily beggar, convincing people with his sad eyes that he hasn't eaten for days. Foxy is also an informal term for an attractive person. This meaning comes from the Middle Ages, when a writer complained of women’s clothes that were so tight they had to stuff fox tails down the back of their skirts to hide their behinds. That is not weird at all.
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.
Yet while the basic gesture of translation is reverent, sometimes a foxy irreverence yields pleasing results.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 22, 2026
But is it a matter of incompetence — “We couldn’t even collude with ourselves,” says son-in-law Jared Kushner — or something more foxy?
From Washington Post • Jan. 16, 2020
She is right that it is quite a leap from wearing a fox on a sweater or chucking a foxy cushion on your sofa to warming to the real thing.
From The Guardian • Apr. 9, 2017
An urban fox will “carry on being foxy, whereas thoroughly urbanized humans are in danger of not being optimally human,” Foster writes.
From The New Yorker • May 23, 2016
His grin was foxy too, and showed too many teeth.
From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt
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.
