ritzy
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of ritzy
An Americanism first recorded in 1915–20, after the Ritz hotels founded by César Ritz (died 1918), Swiss entrepreneur; see ritz, -y 1
Explanation
Something ritzy is expensive and fancy, like a ritzy living room decorated with heavy brocade curtains and plush velvet cushions. If you're ever invited to a ritzy party, you'll want to dress up in your most luxurious clothes and prepare to enjoy delicious food and opulent decor. The informal adjective ritzy implies luxury that's a little over the top. It was coined around 1910, inspired by the famously elegant Ritz Hotels (™) that César Ritz opened starting internationally in the late 19th century.
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:
This summer, more teenagers than ever applied for shifts, he said, potentially a sign of scarcer opportunities for young workers around Long Island’s ritzy beach towns.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 3, 2026
The public had also bid $15,000 on the olive-green painted wood front gates to the only home Monroe ever owned in the ritzy Brentwood neighbourhood.
From BBC ● Jun. 4, 2026
He is accused of starting a fire on New Year's Eve 2025 in the mountains overlooking the ritzy neighborhood.
From Barron's ● May 4, 2026
The Hilton, in a ritzy Washington neighborhood, has long hosted the White House correspondents’ dinner.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 26, 2026
“It will look really ritzy when you ride to church in the new Cadillac this fall!” wrote Miss Love.
From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns
One of the ritzier camps, Midway employs a staff of cooks and personal valets and boasts an extensive wine cellar.
From Salon ● Sep. 22, 2023
The Western diplomat estimates that the proportion of women refusing to publicly wear the hijab in the ritzier neighbourhoods of north Tehran is even higher than 20%.
From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2023
Detractors who bristle at Tan and Wang’s depiction of China as a backwater will surely find some solace in Crazy Rich Asians, which highlights the continent’s ritzier, less tradition-bound present.
From Slate ● Aug. 17, 2018
Still, she and her best friend fantasized about a ritzier life on the other side of town, far from her family’s duplex on Brown Street.
From New York Times ● Dec. 20, 2017
Cordelia’s family moves to a different, larger house, in a ritzier neighborhood farther north.
From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood
Fraisse put it to me, pointing to two of the capital’s ritziest addresses.
From Slate ● Mar. 30, 2023
Bel-Air — thanks to its impressive list of celebrity residents and impressive collection of record-setting mega-mansions — has developed a reputation as one of the ritziest enclaves in the country.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 25, 2023
His 16th restaurant is not just the most personal to date, it’s the ritziest.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 29, 2019
The startup even planned a grand showcase in late August at Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, one of the ritziest car shows in the world.
From The Verge ● Dec. 31, 2018
One of my black classmates, a nerdy boy who was always kind to everyone, had parents who’d founded a big beauty-supply company and lived in one of the ritziest high-rises downtown.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
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.
