stuck-up

American  

[stuhk-uhp] / ˈstʌkˈʌp /

adjective

Informal.

1. snobbishly conceited.

   Synonyms:

   snooty, snobbish, arrogant, vain

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stuck-up British  

adjective

1. informal conceited, arrogant, or snobbish

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Other Word Forms

• stuck-upness
  noun

Etymology

Origin of stuck-up

First recorded in 1820–30

Explanation

If you have an exaggerated opinion of yourself, believing you're smarter, more attractive, or just generally better than everyone else, you're stuck-up. If you talk about nothing but the awards you've won, and your friends might think you're stuck-up. You can also describe a stuck-up person as arrogant, snobby, or conceited. The adjective stuck-up is informal, but it's a great way to talk about someone who brags about himself and looks down on just about everyone else. Some experts guess that stuck-up comes from the idea of "having one's nose up in the air." We do know that it first appeared in print around 1830.

Example Sentences

She leaps on the wall dividing her home and that of her stuck-up neighbors, in heels no less.

From Salon • Feb. 4, 2026

Neil’s father, who has health problems, assumes his son will join him in his painting business; Topher’s are conservative stuck-up pills who, like Amanda, have him slated for a career in finance.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 1, 2025

The moral of every high school movie is basically the same: don’t judge a person by her appearance, and don’t be a stuck-up snob or something terrible might happen to you.

From New York Times • Jan. 14, 2024

She is notable for playing a stuck-up new friend of Dorothy’s in a third-season episode.

From Washington Times • Apr. 23, 2022

My brain is too frazzled to care what that stuck-up girl Sara thinks.

From "A Place at the Table" by Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan