natty

American  

[nat-ee] / ˈnæt i /

adjective

nattier, nattiest

1. neatly or trimly smart in dress or appearance; spruce.

   a natty white uniform.

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natty British  

/ ˈnætɪ /

adjective

1. informal smart in appearance or dress; spruce; dapper

   a natty outfit

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Other Word Forms

• nattiness
  noun
• nonnattilyness
  noun
• nonnatty
  adjective
• nattily
  adverb
• nonnattily
  adverb

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Etymology

Origin of natty

1775–85; perhaps variant of neat ¹ + -y ¹

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Explanation

Natty means current in style, both of dress and manners. A natty dresser is someone who is very stylish and has a snappy attitude. He may even be wearing a natty fedora. Natty is an adjective that comes from the 18th century. Originally it was a slang term, perhaps related to the adjective neat. These days, if you say someone “looks neat,” it might sound like they look clean, but it also can mean that they look fashionable and put together. That’s what natty means, too. Someone who is natty is wearing fashionable clothes and is generally hip.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

natty nattier nattiest

One simple rule: “Read the room,” says Tim Gunn, the natty fashion author and academic best known for his tenure on “Project Runway,” the reality show.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026

“Our mission all year was natty or bust, so we know we got to finish the job.”

From Washington Times ● Jan. 2, 2024

All of a sudden, an authoritative man in a fancy suit and a natty hat arrives.

From New York Times ● Jul. 21, 2023

But one question he asks the players who verbalize the aspiration of winning the natty is: “Are you putting in the work to reach that goal?”

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 22, 2023

Then he’d buy a natty suit so he could take meetings with advertising executives.

From "Dog Squad" by Chris Grabenstein

Irons, however brilliant, is a generation older than Hardy was in 1914, and Patel is taller and nattier than the more corpulent Ramanujan, who was ill at ease in Western dress.

From Nature ● Mar. 29, 2016

Two weeks ago, the Great Googa Mooga Festival descended upon Prospect Park in Brooklyn, which abuts on its left some of the borough’s nattier neighborhoods.

From Salon ● Jun. 10, 2012

The other rat is three feet shorter but nattier, wearing a suit and tie and clutching two big bags of money.

From New York Times ● Aug. 19, 2010

TV went to Chicago armed with better makeup artists, nattier dress and more fancy electronic gadgets than ever before.

From Time Magazine Archive

"I'd like things nattier," Andy used to say; "but it's Jane's way."

From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 12, No. 74, December, 1863 by Various

All the sweeps wore their smartest, nattiest, mostly black best, even though the September sun delivered summer temperatures.

From New York Times ● Sep. 28, 2019

I expect my elected officials to look at least as pulled-together as the nattiest customer at any given Buffalo Wild Wings.

From Slate ● Jan. 11, 2019

He became one of the House’s nattiest dressers, with a preference for pinstripe suits and polished shoes.

From Washington Post ● Jul. 30, 2018

Last week Actor Morgan put on his nattiest suit, gave his mustache an extra twist and became a businessman.

From Time Magazine Archive

Then he has a bright scarlet coat all frogged and padded and laced with lots of gold cord, and the nattiest trousers and patent leather boots.

From Witch Winnie's Mystery, or The Old Oak Cabinet The Story of a King's Daughter by Elizabeth W. (Elizabeth Williams) Champney

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