preppy
Americannoun
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preppies
plural
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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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preppier,
comparative
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preppiest
superlative
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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:
The 86-year-old designer, whose preppy aesthetic has influenced American style for decades, featured looks that emphasized his signature colors, navy blue and white.
From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026
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
Apparently, you’re supposed to know without being told, which is a very preppy attitude indeed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026
The Velvet Gang’s aesthetic changes every sequence: preppy plaids, florals, raver neons and a swollen pink jumpsuit that makes Corvette look like a hyper-feminine Gumby.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 21, 2026
Kelton gets down on one knee to help him, but the preppy kid scrambles back and points with his working arm.
From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman
I thought of my public-school classmates, buying boat shoes at the mall, as preppies.
From New York Times ● Aug. 5, 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
They were a big hit in the South, where needlepoint is part of fraternity fashion and preppies like the pop of color.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 17, 2015
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
Should I have dressed preppier, like the quick-reflexed, collegiate fencing villains in the movies?
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 2026
Both are sometimes remembered, sartorially speaking, for their preppier periods.
From Slate ● Oct. 7, 2022
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
“So you’re going as a slightly preppier version of yourself?”
From Salon ● Oct. 30, 2014
Of course preppier sorts might want to try Swifty’s, on Lexington Avenue just north of 72nd Street, for citified country-club food in an atmosphere that recalls Salinger.
From New York Times ● Apr. 7, 2011
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
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
