hippie

American  

[hip-ee] / ˈhɪp i /

Or hippy

noun

1. a person, especially of the late 1960s, who rejected established institutions and values and sought spontaneity, direct personal relations expressing love, and expanded consciousness, often expressed externally in the wearing of casual, folksy clothing and of beads, headbands, used garments, etc.

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hippie British  

/ ˈhɪpɪ /

noun

1. a variant spelling of hippy 1

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Etymology

Origin of hippie

An Americanism dating back to 1950–55; hip ⁴ + -ie

Compare meaning

How does hippie compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• beatnik vs. hippie

Example Sentences

But he articulated things that hadn’t been part of the American grain, becoming his country’s poet laureate of nature and ethics and its hippie Founding Father.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 26, 2026

Elsewhere in the documentary, narrated by Kate Winslet, he is described as a "bit of a hippie".

From BBC • Jan. 28, 2026

What I want, right now, is what I would call an old-school hippie bowl.

From Salon • Jan. 13, 2026

I let him select a new bedspread and I can still remember the hippie patchwork red velvet one he chose.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 11, 2025

I’d never seen anyone in it before except the sad old hippie in granny glasses, a Hampden graduate, who owned it.

From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt

Related Words

• bohemian
• flower child
• free spirit