spiffy
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of spiffy
1855–60; dial. spiff well-dressed (origin uncertain) + -y 1
Explanation
Something or someone spiffy is fancy or dressed up, like the spiffy red velvet tuxedo you're wearing to your cousin's wedding. If you're looking for an informal way to compliment someone's outfit, spiffy is the word you need. Your brother may look particularly spiffy on his first day of school, in his brand new sweater and expensive jeans. You could also say he looks dapper, dashing, or snazzy. The adjective spiffy is an American invention, along with the now-obsolete spiff, "well-dressed man."
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:
“And now they look all spiffy and nice.”
From Slate ● Jun. 5, 2026
What’s the trick to turning out dozens of spritz cookies that look every bit as spiffy as the ones in those ubiquitous blue tins?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 5, 2025
It’s really a quite spiffy and spectacular look.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 23, 2023
Everyone can use a spiffy new portable drink container.
From Washington Times ● May 9, 2023
I patrol the perimeter with my cart, darting in to pick up misplaced and fallen items, making everything look spiffy from the outside.
From "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich
Only four unbeaten teams remained in the Football Bowl Subdivision, and Washington’s 9-0 season looked even spiffier.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 13, 2016
Pepe’s is a bit spiffier than Sally’s and also serves an excellent salad of seasonal greens.
From Washington Times ● Sep. 15, 2016
Target is restoring its cool with spiffier merchandise and presentations that have helped perk up sales and customer visits over the past year.
From US News ● Sep. 16, 2015
Any minimalist arrangement spiffier than a box spring on a bare floor is perfectly fine.
From Slate ● Dec. 23, 2014
He still hadn’t gone back to work, but I thought he never looked haler or heartier, or neater or spiffier.
From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns
Center Theatre Group’s “50th Celebration,” which gathered celebrities, devoted patrons, philanthropists and swells in their spiffiest attire for a Saturday night shindig at the Ahmanson, was more than a star-studded evening of entertainment.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 21, 2017
Most DreamWorks movies credit two directors and several writers, and play like the spiffiest vaudeville.
From Time ● Mar. 27, 2010
His uniforms were the spiffiest, his medals the most splendiferous and his enemies the most fearful.
From Time Magazine Archive
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.
