racy
Americanadjective
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(of a person's manner, literary style, etc) having a distinctively lively and spirited quality; fresh
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having a characteristic or distinctive flavour
a racy wine
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suggestive; slightly indecent; risqué
a racy comedy
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of racy
Explanation
Something that's racy is zesty and exciting. The racy thriller you checked out of the library is so engrossing that you can't put it down, even at bedtime. You can use the adjective racy for things that are robust or full of flavor, especially wine. It's also a good way to describe zesty, thrilling things, like racy movie plots, as well as things that are bawdy or verge on inappropriate, like the racy videos that are blocked on your school's computers. This word comes from an old meaning of race, "flavor."
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.
“The Idol” was as racy as “Euphoria” but rife with creative issues as the original director left and Levinson took over.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 9, 2026
He quickly expanded the business, buying a string of other titles in Australia and New Zealand and growing their circulation by employing racy tabloid techniques he'd picked up in the UK.
From BBC • Sep. 21, 2023
R&B star Ashanti finally addressed racy remarks made by estranged Murder Inc. producer Irv Gotti, who said they dated and who spent years discrediting her.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 12, 2023
Garlic and Thai chiles in the seasoning give each bite a racy edge.
From Washington Post • Apr. 28, 2023
Every now and then a racy book about lowlife—Tobacco Road, for example—would catch the public fancy, but for a surprisingly long time middlebrow fiction in America was about upper-middle-class life.
From "Class Matters" by The New York Times
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.
