tony
adjective
high-toned; stylish.
Showing results for tony.
Search instead for
toniest.
tony
1 American
[toh-nee]
/ ˈtoʊ ni /
adjective
Informal.
tonier,
toniest
Tony
2
American
[toh-nee]
/ ˈtoʊ ni /
noun
Tonys
plural
Tony
3
American
[toh-nee]
/ ˈtoʊ ni /
Tony
1
British
/ ˈtəʊnɪ /
noun
tony
2
British
/ ˈtəʊnɪ /
adjective
Usage
What is a Tony? A Tony is an annual award given by the American Theatre Wing (ATW) for excellence in theater production. The Tony award is a black statuette featuring a suspended medallion with the image of the comedy and tragedy mask and the winner’s name, category, and winning year engraved on it. The awards are given out at the Tony Awards ceremony, also known as the Tonys. The Tonys are a televised ceremonial event that features celebrity hosts, musical performances, and Broadway announcements. Typically, the event is seen as one of the most important nights in the theater industry because it gathers many of its most talented performers, directors, and production crews.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of tony1
An Americanism dating back to 1875–80; tone + -y 1
Origin of Tony2
After the nickname of Antoinette Perry
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:
One SpaceX buyer has been eyeing a $32-million pocket listing of his in tony Brentwood for months while waiting for the IPO, according to real estate broker Cory Weiss of Douglas Elliman.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2026
The former home of the 36-year-old actress’s family is located in the tony community of Palisades, N.Y., where Panettiere was raised alongside her brother, Jansen, who died at the age of 28 in early 2023.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 26, 2026
MIAMI—Miami-Dade County’s mayor is pursuing the nuclear option in a battle over a marine terminal on tony Fisher Island that supplies fuel for cruise and cargo ships at PortMiami.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 2026
Sandwiched between Bel-Air and Santa Monica, the tony Los Angeles neigborhood of Brentwood has long been home to more than its fair share of industry captains, actors, directors, musicians, media moguls and professional athletes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 18, 2025
“Curiosity. Or perhaps envy. We’re clearly dressed for an important party. We do look rather tony, don’t we, Marion?”
From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin
Prime Minister Tony Blair, who knew Graham for more than 20 years, told the Journal.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
"That was chaos. Absolute chaos. Just madness," former cruiserweight world champion Tony Bellew said on DAZN.
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
"The challenge he faces is that the public judges quickly," political scientist Tony Travers told AFP.
From Barron's ● Jul. 26, 2026
Rams COO Tony Pastoors says the team isn’t rushing Aaron Donald to make a comeback decision, saying they’d rather have him during the season than July.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026
With the help of his friend Tony, who was taking another break on the loading dock, Jake led his two teammates through the hotel’s industrial-sized kitchen and into the greenroom.
From "The Smartest Kid in the Universe" by Chris Grabenstein
At the same time, the Tonys aren’t inclined to be that kind of show.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 4, 2026
The Tonys were first and Cannes most recent to honor Streisand with the umbrella awards most appropriate for this once-in-a-lifetime artist.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 12, 2026
The equivalent of the UK's Olivier Awards, this year's Tonys ceremony will take place in New York on 7 June, hosted by singer Pink.
From BBC ● May 5, 2026
Mr. Harris is always effortlessly charming, whether he’s hosting the Tonys or hawking mushroom coffee.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 16, 2025
Now the Tims and the Tonys can't afford to pay much, but they can afford something, and I think they ought to pay.
From A Crooked Mile by Onions, Oliver [pseud.]
Even after a post-fire decline, the average Altadena home value is currently about $1.15 million, according to Zillow, roughly a third the value of average homes in the mostly tonier Palisades.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2025
Those that did fill up were all in tonier neighborhoods such as Tarzana, Beverlywood and Fairfax.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 23, 2023
Because of the lower property values, even the tonier areas of St. Bernard got less of their damages covered.
From Salon ● Dec. 13, 2022
The beach he was buried near, now called Pleasant Bay, is nestled in an idyllic corner of Chatham, one of the tonier areas of Cape Cod.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 25, 2021
And so on, up the food chain, until tonier brands like Oberlin and Connecticut College had to hold their noses and enter the game too.
From New York Times ● Jan. 23, 2021
The State Farm move affects some of the county’s toniest neighborhoods — adding another layer of expense and financial risk for homeowners in areas that were already costly and imperiled by wildfires.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 10, 2024
MIAMI—For nearly 2 years, bustling teams of archaeologists—totaling more than 120 researchers on some days—have excavated a sprawling waterfront lot here in one of this seaside city’s toniest neighborhoods.
From Science Magazine ● Apr. 10, 2023
He has described how his parents saved to send him to Winchester College, one of Britain’s toniest and most expensive boarding schools.
From Washington Times ● Oct. 24, 2022
Heirs to the tribal leaders today boast second homes in London’s toniest districts and degrees from British universities.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 14, 2022
Dressed by his mom, the fashion manager for a national clothing chain, Missouri college techie-frat Craig Neidorf out-dappers everyone at this gig but the toniest East Coast lawyers.
From The Hacker Crackdown, law and disorder on the electronic frontier by Sterling, Bruce
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.
