a particular kind, sort, or type, as with reference to form, appearance, or character.
the baroque style; The style of the house was too austere for their liking.
a particular, distinctive, or characteristic mode of action or manner of acting.
They do these things in a grand style.
a mode of living, as with respect to expense or display.
an elegant, fashionable, or luxurious mode of living.
to live in style.
a mode of fashion, as in dress, especially good or approved fashion; elegance; smartness.
the mode of expressing thought in writing or speaking by selecting and arranging words, considered with respect to clearness, effectiveness, euphony, or the like, that is characteristic of a group, period, person, personality, etc..
to write in the style of Faulkner; a familiar style; a pompous, pedantic style.
those components or features of a literary composition that have to do with the form of expression rather than the content of the thought expressed.
His writing is all style and no substance.
manner or tone adopted in discourse or conversation.
a patronizing style of addressing others.
a particular, distinctive, or characteristic mode or form of construction or execution in any art or work.
Her painting is beginning to show a personal style.
a descriptive or distinguishing appellation, especially a legal, official, or recognized title.
a firm trading under the style of Smith, Jones, & Co.
the gnomon of a sundial.
a method of reckoning time.
Zoology. a small, pointed process or part.
Botany. a narrow, usually cylindrical and more or less filiform extension of the pistil, which, when present, bears the stigma at its apex.
the rules or customs of typography, punctuation, spelling, and related matters used by a newspaper, magazine, publishing house, etc., or in a specific publication.
to call by a given title or appellation; denominate; name; call.
The pope is styled His or Your Holiness.
to design or arrange in accordance with a given or new style.
to style an evening dress; to style one's hair.
to bring into conformity with a specific style or give a specific style to.
Please style this manuscript.
go out of style, to become unfashionable.
The jacket he's wearing went out of style ten years ago.
in style, fashionable.
a form of appearance, design, or production; type or make
a new style of house
the way in which something is done
good or bad style
the manner in which something is expressed or performed, considered as separate from its intrinsic content, meaning, etc
a distinctive, formal, or characteristic manner of expression in words, music, painting, etc
elegance or refinement of manners, dress, etc
prevailing fashion in dress, looks, etc
a fashionable or ostentatious mode of existence
to live in style
the particular mode of orthography, punctuation, design, etc, followed in a book, journal, etc, or in a printing or publishing house
the distinguishing title or form of address of a person or firm
botany the stalk of a carpel, bearing the stigma
zoology a slender pointed structure, such as the piercing mouthparts of certain insects
a method of expressing or calculating dates See Old Style New Style
another word for stylus
the arm of a sundial
to design, shape, or tailor
to style hair
to adapt or make suitable (for)
to make consistent or correct according to a printing or publishing style
to name or call; designate
to style a man a fool
(intr) to decorate objects using a style or stylus
The slender part of a flower pistil, connecting the ovary and the stigma. The pollen tube grows through the style delivering the pollen nuclei to the ovary.
See more at flower pollination
See fashion.
First recorded in 1350–1400; (noun) Middle English, from Latin stylus, spelling variant, mistakenly associated with Greek stŷlos “pillar, column,” of stilus “tool for writing,” hence, “written composition, style”; see stylus; (verb) from the noun, first recorded in 1560–80
< Greek stŷlos column or -stȳlos -columned, adj. derivative of stŷlos
Artists, musicians, and even chefs have their own personal style — a word used to describe the unique ways in which people express themselves. Style is a word that's often used to describe the distinctive way in which artists, designers, and other creative types practice their crafts. The designer who launches a line of cardboard bathing suits is expressing his style, even if no one else finds these soggy suits stylish, or in fashion, at the moment. When hyphenated, style can describe the qualities of a person or thing, as in "Cajun-style cooking."
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Known for her personal style, which married the bold prints of the ’60s and ’70s with classic silhouettes, Doris would wear Gap clothes as she worked the register.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 4, 2026
The brightest stars in Hollywood, music, sports and style will hit the red carpet Monday for the Met Gala, the extravagant Manhattan charity ball that this year spotlights the intersection between fashion and art.
From Barron's • May 4, 2026
Dibling was overlooked when Jack Grealish, whose own socks down, dribbling style drew comparisons between the pair, suffered a season-ending foot injury.
From BBC • May 4, 2026
A campaign which gained ground due to its aggressive style is We Won't Be Scammed, which has an Instagram account with around 20,000 followers.
From BBC • May 3, 2026
“I was hoping I could find a similar style of ‘treasure map,’ one that was all words.”
From "The Smartest Kid in the Universe" by Chris Grabenstein
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.
