snobbery
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of snobbery
Explanation
Use the noun snobbery when you talk about someone's habit of treating other people as inferior. If your friend doesn't want to associate with people who have less money than she does, it's proof of her snobbery. Snobbery is an unattractive trait caused by a person's belief that he or she is inherently better than others. Most snobbery has to do with social class and the idea that someone who has more money or went to a fancier school is worthier than someone who doesn't have these advantages. The root of snobbery is snob, which in 1800's British slang meant "person of the lower classes," but changed over time to mean "one who despises those considered inferior."
Vocabulary lists containing snobbery
List 2
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List 10
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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.
The 1990s cocktail revival introduced a layer of snobbery to speakeasy-style bars, long after any subterfuge was necessary.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 14, 2026
Robinson believes "football snobbery" is behind some of the reluctance to embrace set-pieces as a potential game-changer.
From BBC • Mar. 27, 2026
"In darts, we've defeated the snobbery in sport," promoter Barry Hearn said in a recent interview with British newspaper The Times.
From Barron's • Dec. 30, 2025
Out of context, that quote may lend weight to the strain of snobbery that wrote off “Blood and Sand” before the plot found its footing, which it did after its introductory episodes.
From Salon • Dec. 7, 2025
Added to European snobbery was white American scepticism about Dvorak's public statements.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
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.
