beautiful people

plural noun

often capitalized B&P
: wealthy or famous people whose lifestyle is usually expensive and well-publicized

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Can beautiful be used to describe a man?

Our evidence shows that when beautiful is used to describe physical beauty, it is overwhelming used of women or a physical aspect of a woman (such as her hair or skin). This hasn't always been the case: when beautiful first came into English it was used as easily of men as it was of women. Nowadays, handsome is the adjective of appreciation most commonly used of men.

The plural noun phrase beautiful people doesn't refer to the overall looks of the people mentioned, but rather the elegance and sumptuousness of their lives.

Examples of beautiful people in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
More recently, women started going to college at higher rates than men, the gender pay gap started to close, women started having children later, LGTBQ rights made strides and body positivity pressed companies to diversify depictions of beautiful people. Madeline Holcombe, CNN Money, 11 Oct. 2025 He’s drawn to this material not by the weight of its ethical conundrums but by the chance to watch beautiful people attempt, or pretend, to hash those conundrums out. Justin Chang, New Yorker, 3 Oct. 2025 Health isn’t just for beautiful people, and healthy choices do not happen in a vacuum. Tressie McMillan Cottom, Mercury News, 29 Aug. 2025 Hello, all you beautiful people! Rick Porter, HollywoodReporter, 26 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for beautiful people

Word History

First Known Use

1950, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of beautiful people was in 1950

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Cite this Entry

“Beautiful people.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/beautiful%20people. Accessed 21 Oct. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on beautiful people

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