stuck-up
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
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
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
She leaps on the wall dividing her home and that of her stuck-up neighbors, in heels no less.
From Salon ● Feb. 4, 2026
Nobody liked Dr. Harmon much; she was the kind of stuck-up professional who looked down her nose at everyone.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 13, 2023
She is notable for playing a stuck-up new friend of Dorothy’s in a third-season episode.
From Washington Times ● Apr. 23, 2022
She is notable to for playing a stuck-up new friend of Dorothy’s in a third-season episode.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 23, 2022
As much as I don’t like Lara’s stuck-up friends, they aren’t wrong.
From "Amari and the Night Brothers" by B.B. Alston
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.
