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:
Rapidly spreading blazes have forced authorities to evacuate tens of thousands of people from the swanky Cap Ferret peninsula and surrounding villages, in one of the largest evacuation operations ever conducted in France.
From Barron's ● Jul. 25, 2026
On one recent Thursday night, dating app startup Known hosted a dating event at a swanky San Francisco cocktail lounge for people who completed their matchmaking call on the app.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 28, 2026
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
He folded his blanket in a swanky way.
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
A budding young fashion designer prepares to ditch the neighborhood for swankier digs downtown.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 11, 2021
The Coins has moved to Pioneer Square, where it’s bigger and swankier and too far away.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 26, 2019
Conventional developers are starting to play with the idea, bringing a swankier gloss to what had been homespun group housing.
From New York Times ● Aug. 23, 2017
"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 George Luther Schelling
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
At one end of the Haslegrave Ground on the university campus, in the shadow of English cricket's National Performance Centre, is a marquee, big enough to hold the swankiest wedding.
From BBC ● Nov. 21, 2024
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
More heavyweight options cost four figures, with the swankiest model north of $2,000.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 9, 2023
In the matter of meals, since the rations one feels Hedonistic ideals have so soundly been shaken That even the swankiest Duke might say, "Thankee!"
From Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 156, March 5, 1919 by Various
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.
