swanky
Americanadjective
adjective
-
expensive and showy; stylish
a swanky hotel
-
boastful or conceited
Usage
What does swanky mean? Swanky means fancy, stylish, or classy, especially in a showy or expensive way. It is often used informally. Swanky can refer to something that is ostentatious (over the top) or something that is very elegant. Either way, the unifying element is fanciness. Example: Anna doesn’t usually get a chance to eat at fancy restaurants, so she really enjoyed the gourmet food at the swanky office party.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of swanky
Explanation
Swanky things are fancy and stylish, like a swanky hotel lobby with sparkling chandeliers, plush furniture, and elegant guests. You can also call swanky things ritzy or classy. They're expensive and luxurious, like a swanky car, a swanky apartment building with a doorman, or a swanky neighborhood where only movie stars can afford to live. The adjective swanky comes from its less-common synonym swank, which stems from the now-obsolete verb swank, "to behave ostentatiously."
Vocabulary lists containing swanky
"The Landlady" by Roald Dahl
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The Catcher in the Rye
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A Wealth Of Words: Synonyms for "Rich"
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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:
It isn't a lordship with swanky estates or privileges.
From BBC ● Jun. 18, 2026
I guess being buddies at swanky Hamptons parties in the ’90s only goes so far.
From Slate ● Jun. 11, 2026
Even in financial hub Shanghai's swanky shopping districts, buyers still viscerally feel the uncertainty of the Covid pandemic.
From Barron's ● May 27, 2026
Dozens of other startups operate in the building, while another wing of the redbrick factory has been converted to swanky apartments.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 25, 2026
Matt remembered someone saying, when he first arrived, You won’t get away with your swanky ways here.
From "The House of the Scorpion" by Nancy Farmer
They will also have a new pick-up shelf and parking spots for mobile orders, along with a more technologically advanced kitchen and a swankier interior.
From Salon ● Aug. 22, 2023
Cattle deaths from train collisions isn't new in India, though the media's scrutiny of these deaths has increased over the past few years as the country launches newer, swankier trains.
From BBC ● Apr. 6, 2023
If mom-and-pop restaurants specializing in galbi jjim, kimchi jjigae or soondubu disappear, to be replaced by swankier places or chains like Sweetgreen, will Koreatown lose its soul?
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 10, 2022
The Coins has moved to Pioneer Square, where it’s bigger and swankier and too far away.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 26, 2019
"It seems hardly possible that your activities would be confined largely to going to the cinema, to the swankier night clubs and eating in the more famed restaurants."
From The Common Man by Schelling, George Luther
We met in a cozy bar at the Crockfords, one of the swankiest luxury hotels on the north end of the Las Vegas Strip.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 8, 2026
A Japanese tycoon has taken over many of the swankiest spots in the Sicilian city of Palermo for a decadent, days-long birthday party - reported to have cost hundreds of thousands of euros.
From BBC ● Nov. 3, 2023
A half-dozen or so men gathered last month for afternoon drinks at the penthouse bar of the 11 Mirrors, one of Kyiv’s swankiest hotels, to discuss the lucrative business of arming Ukrainian troops.
From New York Times ● Sep. 9, 2023
It was one of the grandest and swankiest parties held in generations, with pricey tickets and a level of pomp befitting the figurative coronation of the general who had preserved the Union.
From Salon ● Dec. 24, 2022
She's bought perfume and gloves at Michel Swiss, the swankiest shop in town, a dress at Chez Marie—she passed three fifties there—and a hat at Paulette's over on Monroe Street.
From Status Quo by Reynolds, Mack
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.
