Did you know?
César Ritz (1850-1918) earned worldwide renown for the luxurious hotels bearing his name in London and Paris. (The Ritz-Carlton hotel company is a contemporary descendant of these enterprises.) Although they were by no means the first to cater to high-end clients, Ritz’s hotels quickly earned reputations as symbols of opulence. F. Scott Fitzgerald, a writer who often focused on the fashionably wealthy, titled one of his short stories “The Diamond as Big as the Ritz,” and the phrase “to put on the ritz” means “to indulge in ostentatious display.” The adjective ritzy, describing either something fancy or stylish, or the haughty attitudes of the wealthy elite, first checked into the English language in 1919.
Examples of ritzy in a Sentence
Shawn Raymundo, AZCentral.com, 20 Sep. 2025
But the action has gained wide notice in the community, which includes ski resorts, ritzy homes and thousands of service workers, including many immigrant families.
—Seth Klamann, Denver Post, 19 Sep. 2025
Above the Top actually seems like a pretty chill workplace for a high-end restaurant at the top of a ritzy hotel.
—Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 19 Sep. 2025
Under Erozan, the clientele has got ritzier.
—Maureen O'Hare, CNN Money, 15 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ritzy
Cite this Entry
“Ritzy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ritzy. Accessed 26 Sep. 2025.
Copy Citation
Share