adjective
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neat and spruce in dress and bearing; trim
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small and nimble
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of dapper
1400–50; late Middle English daper < Middle Dutch dapper nimble, stalwart; cognate with German tapfer brave
Explanation
A neatly and stylishly dressed man can be described as dapper. If you like to wear a well-made fedora, you appreciate clothes. Place a brightly colored feather in the brim and you’re dapper. Dapper is a Germanic word coming from a Middle Dutch word that meant "strong," "quick," or "nimble." Think of the words dashing, jaunty and spiffy when you think of dapper as these are all near synonyms. All of these words are used specifically to describe men. Although there doesn't seem to be a parallel term for a well-dressed woman, if you call her chic or stylish, she will be pleased.
Vocabulary lists containing dapper
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "D"
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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.
In interviews the dapper artist with his trademark flat cap waxed lyrical about the place where he was locked down during the Covid-19 pandemic.
From Barron's • Jun. 12, 2026
But Eddie was the father that Daphne loved most, and the reunion—Eddie is now a dapper, personable gentleman of 76—has left both deeply emotional and eager to reconnect.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 29, 2026
Looking dapper in a pink tux, the star dedicated his prize to "everyone in this room who believes in the power of black music".
From BBC • Feb. 2, 2026
Times writer described Brown, always dapper and cool, as a piece of living art.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 7, 2025
TeLinde, one of the top cervical cancer experts in the country, was a dapper and serious fifty-six-year-old surgeon who walked with an extreme limp from an ice-skating accident more than a decade earlier.
From "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot
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.
