peppy
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of peppy
Explanation
Are you energetic, full of enthusiasm, and a little bit bubbly? Then you can describe yourself as peppy! When you're feeling peppy, you're lighthearted and cheerful, practically bouncing along — think of a peppy cheerleader. Peppy songs make you want to tap your toe, and peppy party guests keep things fun when you're celebrating. This North American adjective first appeared around 1915, from pep, shorthand for pepper, which was used to mean "spirit or energy" starting around 1845.
Vocabulary lists containing peppy
Flying Lessons & Other Stories
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
The 47 People You'll Meet in Middle School
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Be a Perfect Person in Just Three Days!
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
See Examples For:
We traced the evolution of preppy from its buttoned-up heritage to its more modern and peppy form.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
They’re peppy and fruity … and a glaring recession indicator.
From Slate ● Aug. 14, 2026
“They were to make me peppy during interviews,” she recalled.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 26, 2026
It also had a slick five-speed manual transmission, peppy engine and nimble steering.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 22, 2026
His voice sounds so peppy that I don’t have the heart to say the truth.
From "Merci Suárez Changes Gears" by Meg Medina
Apple, having to play an un-actorly personality, is somewhat too mannered for the part, at first forcing Blackwell’s deadpan humor into the ensemble’s peppier cadence.
From New York Times ● Aug. 17, 2021
Then she switched into a drastically peppier tone for the taping: “Believe it or not, over five thousand of you have joined in the past few days, which is blowing my mind!”
From The New Yorker ● Dec. 10, 2018
This plant is just one of a list of age-old plants and herbal extracts that make people feel a bit peppier, a bit happier, a bit more relaxed.
From The Guardian ● Sep. 9, 2016
The Million Dollar Band’s version is peppier, more of a marching-band sound, compared to USC’s, which hews more closely to the original.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2016
"Thanks," said the judge, "a peppier brew From a fairer hand was never knew."
From Something Else Again by Franklin P. (Franklin Pierce) Adams
The peppiest single Joel ever made might get even closer to Motown’s classic Holland-Dozier-Holland sound than Phil Collins did a year earlier in his punctilious remake of the Supremes’ “You Can’t Hurry Love.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2025
And then there’s Van Ness, the quippiest, peppiest of the bunch.
From Washington Post ● Jun. 21, 2018
“Dolly” is surely the peppiest show on Broadway, world capital of pep, and the performers seem to be even more energized by the audience’s response than the first time I saw it.
From New York Times ● Jul. 12, 2017
He’s the peppiest pessimist south of the Mason-Dixon line.
From New York Times ● Mar. 30, 2017
Old friends from Spokane still recognize the happy-go-lucky Crosby approach which is transmitted to radio audiences in the jargon which keeps the Kraft Music Hall one of the peppiest shows on the air.
From Time Magazine Archive
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.
