nouveau riche

[ noo-voh reesh; French noo-voh reesh ]

/ ˈnu voʊ ˈriʃ; French nu voʊ ˈriʃ /

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noun, plural nou·veaux riches

[noo-voh reesh; French noo-voh reesh]. /ˈnu voʊ ˈriʃ; French nu voʊ ˈriʃ/.

a person who is newly rich: the ostentation of the nouveaux riches of the 1920s.

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Origin of nouveau riche

1805–15; <French: new rich (person)

Words nearby nouveau riche

nous, no use crying over spilt milk, no use, it's, nouveau, nouveau pauvre, nouveau riche, nouveau roman, nouveauté, nouvelle, Nouvelle-Calédonie, nouvelle cuisine

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use nouveau riche in a sentence

These have the pared-down, Pre-Modernist look of Art Nouveau.
The Magazine That Made—and Unmade—Politicians|Anthony Haden-Guest|November 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The day we were supposed to shoot this, the Beaujolais Nouveau comes out.
Rob Reiner on the State of Romcoms, ‘The Princess Bride’s’ Alternate Ending, and the Red Viper|Marlow Stern|July 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The façade bore all the trendy trappings of the Art Nouveau movement that swept across the European continent.
Secret KGB Torture House Opens Its Doors in Riga|Brandon Presser|June 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Horses may be the nouveau eco-friendly delivery van in some parts, but apparently not in big cities.
De Blasio Whipped by Horse Lobby|Josh Robin|March 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST

In nouveau hipster and increasingly expensive Brooklyn, nearly a quarter of people live below the poverty line.
Richard Florida Concedes the Limits of the Creative Class|Joel Kotkin|March 20, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Voyez l'efficace du sacrement: le lendemain matin, il mande M. de Biancourt et moy, et de nouveau il recommence sa harangue.
The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents, Vol. II: Acadia, 1612-1614|Various
And Jack come home from a long cruise, with prize-money in his pockets, was as ostentatious as any nouveau riche.
The Portsmouth Road and Its Tributaries|Charles G. Harper
A riche hil in the next line appears to have no special significance.
Chaucer's Works, Volume 1 (of 7) -- Romaunt of the Rose; Minor Poems|Geoffrey Chaucer
On n'y apprend rien de nouveau, et cependant il attache et intresse.
Baron d'Holbach|Max Pearson Cushing
He really is a typical nouveau riche out of a novel (not one of your novels, darling).
Happy House|Betsey Riddle, Freifrau von Hutten zum Stolzenberg

British Dictionary definitions for nouveau riche

nouveau riche

/ (ˌnuːvəʊ ˈriːʃ, French nuvo riʃ) /

noun plural nouveaux riches (ˌnuːvəʊ ˈriːʃ, French nuvo riʃ)

(often plural) a person who has acquired wealth recently and is regarded as vulgarly ostentatious or lacking in social graces

adjective

of or characteristic of the nouveaux riches

Word Origin for nouveau riche

French, literally: new rich

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for nouveau riche

nouveau riche

[ (nooh-voh reesh) ]

A pejorative term for one who has recently become rich and who spends money conspicuously. From French, meaning “new rich.”

nouveau riche

Origin of nouveau riche

Words nearby nouveau riche

Words related to nouveau riche

How to use nouveau riche in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for nouveau riche

Word Origin for nouveau riche

Cultural definitions for nouveau riche