preppy
Americannoun
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a person who is a student at or a graduate of a preparatory school.
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a person who favors or is viewed as favoring clothing style or behavior associated with traditional preparatory schools.
adjective
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of, relating to, or characteristic of preparatory schools or their students.
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of, pertaining to, characteristic of, or being a style in dress or mode of behavior of a preppy.
adjective
noun
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of preppy
Explanation
Someone who's preppy either attended an expensive, private high school and an Ivy League college — or just dresses that way. The informal preppy comes from "college preparatory school," its shortened form, "prep school," and the resulting noun prep, used to describe graduates of these elite high schools. You can substitute preppy as a noun, too: "The campus is full of preppies — maybe I'll go to art school instead." Preppy style includes dressing in polo shirts, khaki pants, and boat shoes, or looking like you just finished playing tennis or riding a horse.
Vocabulary lists containing preppy
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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:
Croatia must travel to Dallas, Toronto and Philadelphia for its group games, but it will recover between those matches in the preppy boarding-school confines of Episcopal High School in the D.C. suburbs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 7, 2026
Compared to the resort-ready tunics and preppy Reva flats that embodied Tory 1.0 in the 2000s, Tory 2.0 has evolved into a “weirder,” more innovative version of itself.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 14, 2026
The top look this year, ironically, is “Old Money,” a fashion trend that emphasizes expensive, quality pieces and classic styles — not so much head-to-toe logos, but more tailored blazers, preppy vibes and subdued hues.
From Salon ● Dec. 27, 2024
The crowd in the dining room was a mix of older and younger, but most people were dressed on the preppy side in gingham and Ralph Lauren.
From Slate ● Nov. 2, 2024
Like most of the other guy Warriors, Kevin dressed preppy, looking like a lawyer-who-enjoys-golfing waiting to happen.
From "Looking for Alaska" by John Green
“My cliquish world consisted of ladies and gents from Manhattan’s exclusive private schools and preppies down from New England boarding schools who played bit-parts on weekends and holidays,” she wrote.
From New York Times ● Oct. 10, 2022
Within the teen movie pantheon, he was long the black sheep, unwilling to play by the rules that had schoolyard jocks and trust-fund preppies ensconced at the top of the hierarchy.
From Slate ● Mar. 27, 2019
“It wasn’t like we were a bunch of vapid preppies, but God, we were preppy then.”
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 22, 2018
Light-pink-colored swim shorts have the flashy flair of Sonny Crockett from TV show “Miami Vice,” while pinkish denim harks back to preppies with their fondness for eye-searing trousers to match their Madras cocktails.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 27, 2017
It was a school largely for people from out of town, preppies who observed the surrounding neighborhood with a voyeuristic curiosity when they weren’t hatching myths about it to scare freshmen.
From "The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates" by Wes Moore
Hill exuded a young architect vibe, but Alfred’s look was preppier — a navy blue cardigan and vintage Ralph Lauren brown corduroy pants emblazoned with ducks.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 10, 2018
The preppier back-half of the show, representing Mr. Lauren’s Polo label, lacked the same broad appeal, though it was masterfully put together.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2018
Avocado and squid crostini were washed down by Champagne and vodka by the stylish crowd, who wore a range of streetwear and preppier outfits, reflecting Mr. Snyder’s go-to aesthetic.
From New York Times ● Jul. 12, 2017
“So you’re going as a slightly preppier version of yourself?”
From Salon ● Oct. 30, 2014
"I go to school at SUNY–Binghamton, and a lot of kids wear them—the preppier, more GQ–style kids."
From Slate ● Jun. 26, 2013
As a magazine writer he played the part of the preppiest young man in the club, and ingratiated himself as a in-on-the-joke insider—a power journalist who became a source for power journalists.
From Salon ● May 4, 2023
In its long-sleeve form, the preppiest of summer staples is a convincing alternative to dress shirts and sweaters.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2016
He was at Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, at the same time as John Ellis Bush, scion of America’s preppiest leading family.
From Slate ● Jan. 28, 2015
What does that Scandinavian country have to do with the preppiest of American shoe styles?
From New York Times ● Nov. 23, 2012
It’s funny how it ends up being the straightest, preppiest, most athletic guys who go all out for Gender Bender.
From "Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda" by Becky Albertalli
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.
