snooty

American  

[snoo-tee] / ˈsnu ti /

adjective

Informal.

snootier, snootiest

1. snobbish.

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snooty British  

/ ˈsnuːtɪ /

adjective

1. aloof or supercilious

2. snobbish or exclusive

   a snooty restaurant

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Usage

What does snooty mean? Snooty means snobby. It’s typically used to describe a person who thinks they have better taste or higher standards than other people and treats them in a condescending way because of it. Snooty is always used negatively. It’s often used to describe people that exclude others, typically due to the perception that others are not good enough. Snooty isn’t only applied to people—you can call a restaurant snooty, for example, if it’s overly exclusive. A snooty person can be called a snoot, which means the same thing as snob. But the adjective snooty is much more commonly used than the noun snoot. Example: The kids in my class are so snooty—they all just stick to their own cliques and don’t try to make friends with anyone else.

Other Word Forms

• snootily adverb
• snootiness noun

Etymology

Origin of snooty

First recorded in 1915–20; snoot + -y ¹

Explanation

Use the word snooty to describe someone who is a terrible, stuck-up snob. Your snooty grandmother might refuse to take the subway because she doesn't want to mix with regular people. Snooty people generally think they're better than everyone else, often because they have more money or believe they belong to a higher social class. A snooty college freshman might demand a single room in the very best dorm, and a snooty waiter in a fancy restaurant might make you feel like you don't belong there. Snooty first appeared as college slang in 1918, from the now defunct 1800's word snouty, which implied "looking down your nose at people."

Example Sentences

DNA is a snooty aristocrat, never stooping to engage in day-to-day tasks.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 13, 2025

The city is not as snooty and pretentious as San Francisco.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 5, 2024

The Oscars will never be the place for snooty cinephiles like myself to exercise our theories and pet squabbles.

From New York Times • Jan. 24, 2024

Coffee was seen as a patriotic drink in the colonies following the Boston Tea Party, but it was also a snooty one.

From Salon • Dec. 9, 2023

Or the snooty “Don’t you even know your own mother’s name?”

From "One Crazy Summer" by Rita Williams-Garcia

Related Words

• arrogant
• condescending
• egotistical
• pompous
• snobbish