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:
Instead of wooing my new date with a super swanky night on the town, I had the opportunity to connect with him in a real way.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 19, 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
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
“Diamonds. Rubies probably. You found a swanky girl, all right.”
From "Ship Breaker" by Paolo Bacigalupi
This is a basic desk from a lesser-known vendor, and I was a bit skeptical when it was offered to me for testing after having used swankier desks from the likes of Vari.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 28, 2023
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
There may be nothing princely about Bitton’s portrayal, but he’s so much more lovable than the posh cads of swankier Benedicks.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 13, 2023
"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
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
More heavyweight options cost four figures, with the swankiest model north of $2,000.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 9, 2023
“It is a completely unbelievable but wholly captivating flight into fancy composed of unequal dollops of comedy, romance, poignancy, funny colloquialisms and Manhattan’s swankiest East Side areas captured in the loveliest of colors,” A.H.
From New York Times ● Feb. 27, 2023
But the New City had hardly been safer, even in the swankiest private chamber in the highest building.
From The Dark Door by Nourse, Alan Edward
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.
