beautiful people

plural noun

often capitalized B&P

: wealthy or famous people whose lifestyle is usually expensive and well-publicized

Did you know?

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

But People magazine selected Delany as one of the 50 most beautiful people in the world in 1991. —Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 26 Jan. 2024

Frat boys belonged there, hippies belonged there, installation artists and beautiful people and ageing ravers who could still handle their drugs belonged there. —Hazlitt, 1 Nov. 2023

Stories of life among the beautiful people can be tiresome, but Chow emerges as a likable, surprisingly relatable character. —Los Angeles Times Staff, Los Angeles Times, 20 Oct. 2023

So many broken, beautiful people trying to pick themselves up. —Laura Newberry, Los Angeles Times, 3 Oct. 2023

This could be read as an observation on how beautiful people can have their way while their beauty lasts. —WIRED, 25 Sep. 2023

All these beautiful people shoving so much amazing energy at you... —Kelly Martinez, Peoplemag, 14 Aug. 2023

With the Great Depression raging, Americans scrounged pennies to watch beautiful people flirt. —Time, 11 Aug. 2023

These were not just beautiful people put together to do what’s on the page. —Juliana Ukiomogbe, ELLE, 1 June 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1950, in the meaning defined above