tony
adjective
high-toned; stylish.
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tonier.
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:
She’s tried them everywhere from McDonald’s to Michelin-starred haunts, in tony European hamlets and Midwestern hockey towns.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026
With his elevated speech, tony air and throwback attire, he’s like someone from another era; you could see him as one of Jay Gatsby’s pals or a bon vivant who drops by on “Downton Abbey.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
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
Lee Sung Jin, the Emmy-winning creator of Netflix’s “Beef,” was skeptical when his friend offered to let him use his membership at the tony Montecito Club.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 21, 2026
Nothing was brokn broken except for tony isnt happy and silly all the time like he used to be.
From "Stella by Starlight" by Sharon M. Draper
As a jazz and pop standard it sparked memorable romantic readings from Peggy Lee, Margaret Whiting, Frank Sinatra, Mel Tormé and Tony Bennett.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
Such a plan may miss the point demonstrated by Tony the Tiger’s endurance: No matter what’s in the box, with cereal, what you’re buying is a friendly feeling.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
José Rivera’s “Marisol” came out around the same time as Tony Kushner’s “Angels in America,” and both plays, vibrating with millennial anxieties, carry the earthly battle for human survival up to the heavens.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke told the National Press Club in Canberra that immigration was "fundamentally a strength" for Australia, but accepted that housing pressures required changes.
From Barron's ● Sep. 17, 2026
Usually Carmen and Tony would be talking and joking as they zigzagged their way through the packs of people that jammed the street.
From "I Survived the Great Molasses Flood, 1919" by Lauren Tarshis
The production reunites the original Broadway cast — André De Shields, Patrick Page, Reeve Carney, Eva Noblezada and Amber Gray — six years after the show debuted and swept the Tonys in 2019.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
This wouldn’t be quite the same if the Tonys moved to Netflix or YouTube.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 4, 2026
At the same time, the Tonys aren’t inclined to be that kind of show.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 4, 2026
Beyond the usual suspects, could Rose Byrne’s Oscar and Tonys profile boost her chances for the underrated ‘Platonic’?”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 20, 2026
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 Oliver [pseud.] Onions
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
But a tonier environment did not equal greater comfort.
From New York Times ● Apr. 19, 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
A similar story played out during the previous drought, when residents in some tonier neighborhoods from Calabasas to Beverly Hills were criticized for flouting the rules.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 1, 2022
Entranced, Weller swan-dove headlong into the heart of Ferry’s unwritten sophisti-pop syllabus with airs that were tonier, goofier and made for extraordinarily easier listening than anything the Jam would’ve deigned to do.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 20, 2020
The borough of Westminster, home to some of London’s toniest neighborhoods, said in a 2023 report that it sought to collect payment on 13,423 tickets issued to United Arab Emirates vehicles between 2018 and 2022.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026
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
To dazzle him he invited him to dine at one of the most notable and "toniest" of restaurants.
From Ever Heard This? Over Three Hundred Good Stories by F. W. Chambers
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.
