dandy

1 of 2

noun

dan·​dy ˈdan-dē How to pronounce dandy (audio)
plural dandies
1
: a man who gives exaggerated attention to personal appearance
2
: something excellent in its class
a dandy of a game
dandyish adjective
dandyishly adverb

dandy

2 of 2

adjective

dandier; dandiest
1
: of, relating to, or suggestive of a man who gives exaggerated attention to personal appearance : foppish
2
: very good : first-rate
a dandy place to stay
I have a couple of friends … who think a recession is a dandy time to try to discover better and cheaper ways to do things.Thomas Friedman

Examples of dandy in a Sentence

Noun That was a dandy of a game. that dandy was willing to spend all day and hundreds of dollars just to get the perfect pair of shoes Adjective We thought something was wrong, but he said everything was just fine and dandy. that's a dandy new racing bike
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
In February, 1926, the dandy—by then dubbed Eustace Tilley—returned to the cover to celebrate the magazine having survived its first year. Françoise Mouly, The New Yorker, 5 Feb. 2024 The solipsism of artists and influencers offers infinite variations on self-lacerating lampoon, and Sebastian Silva’s new film Rotting in the Sun comes up with a dandy. Chris Vognar, Rolling Stone, 9 Sep. 2023 This polka-dot silk number is perfect for channeling your inner dandy. Naomi Rougeau, Robb Report, 25 Aug. 2023 Her 9-year-old son Travis (Chase Dillon) is something of a dandy, sporting impeccable two or three-piece outfits, with bowties or even boloties. Kaely Monahan, The Arizona Republic, 25 July 2023 This foppish dandy is the Penguin in the pantheon of Washington, D.C., DC Comics villains. Nina Burleigh, The New Republic, 16 May 2023 Flowers remain a dominant theme with Derby dandies. Michael Solomon, Forbes, 6 May 2023 The Giants have made countless trades that were dandies, but the bad ones present what-if scenarios that can be tough for fans to stomach. John Shea, San Francisco Chronicle, 30 Apr. 2023 Even if his clothes are expensive to make and to purchase, utilitarianism is a core principle not only for the brand but for the clientele: Mediterranean dandies and thoughtful tech bros, uninterested in flashing their fortunes at a time of market anxiety. Jon Caramanica, Town & Country, 28 Feb. 2023
Adjective
Other mayors have been fashion plates, from the dandy style of 1920s Jimmy Walker to the restrained bow ties of David Dinkins. Sarah Maslin Nir, New York Times, 10 Jan. 2024 Well, that’s all good and dandy, but the chatbot claims at the same time not to have access to specific information about my writing style. Reece Rogers, WIRED, 26 Dec. 2023 To recap, The Bear—the restaurant, that is—has opened to friends and family, but not everything’s swell and dandy for our rag-tag restaurant team. Li Goldstein, Bon Appétit, 9 Nov. 2023 On the other hand, the Mac spin runs just dandy under Ventura on my M1 MacBook Air. Cameron Kaiser, Ars Technica, 25 Oct. 2023 And at the beginning, her relationship with Billy is so rose-colored and dandy — and then obviously that becomes more strained as the show progresses. Beatrice Verhoeven, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 June 2023 Garmin even summarizes it in a handy dandy Training Readiness metric that looks at your sleep, sleep history, recovery time, HRV status, training load, and stress history. Victoria Song, The Verge, 23 June 2023 Even tennis courts and the very rooftops on our homes are oftentimes reinforced or entirely composed of some quite handy dandy asphalt. Lance Eliot, Forbes, 1 Nov. 2021 King Charles, an already dandy man, has reached his sartorial height during his coronation. Isiah Magsino, Town & Country, 7 May 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'dandy.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun and Adjective

probably short for jack-a-dandy, from jack entry 1 + a (of) + dandy (origin unknown)

First Known Use

Noun

circa 1780, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective

1792, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of dandy was circa 1780

Dictionary Entries Near dandy

Cite this Entry

“Dandy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dandy. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

dandy

1 of 2 noun
dan·​dy ˈdan-dē How to pronounce dandy (audio)
plural dandies
1
: a man who is too interested in his clothing and personal appearance
2
: a very good example of something
dandyish adjective

dandy

2 of 2 adjective
dandier; dandiest
: very good : splendid, excellent

More from Merriam-Webster on dandy

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