ritz
[ rits ]
/ rɪts /
||
noun
ostentatious or pretentious display.
verb (used with object)
Slang. to treat with condescension; snub: The star ritzed the reporters and got a bad press.
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Nearby words
- ritualistic,
- ritualization,
- ritualize,
- ritualized,
- ritually,
- ritz combination principle,
- ritzy,
- riv.,
- rivage,
- rival
Idioms
put on the ritz, Informal. to live in elegance and luxury, especially to make an ostentatious show of one's wealth: They put on the ritz to impress their guests.Also put on the Ritz.
Origin of ritz
First recorded in 1925–30; after the sumptuous hotels founded by César Ritz (died 1918), Swiss entrepreneur
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for ritz
ritz
/ (rɪts) /
noun
put on the ritz to assume a superior air or make an ostentatious display
Word Origin for ritz
from the luxury hotels created by the Swiss hotelier César Ritz (1850–1918)
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
Ritz
"high quality, superiority," 1910 (Ritzian, adj., is attested by 1908), in reference to the luxurious Ritz hotels in New York, London, Paris, etc., commemorating Swiss hotelier César Ritz (1850-1918). To put on the ritz "assume an air of superiority" is recorded from 1926. A verb ritz "to behave haughtily" is recorded from 1911.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper