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ritz

/rɪts/
IPA guide

Ritz is something that's extremely fancy and glamorous. Some people like camping in the great outdoors, cooking hot dogs over a fire — others prefer the ritz of going on a fabulous shopping spree on Rodeo Drive.

The words ritz and ritzy come from César Ritz, who opened several Ritz Hotels (™). If you're ever invited to a ritzy party, you'll want to dress up in your most luxurious clothes and prepare to enjoy delicious food and opulent decor. The informal adjective ritzy implies luxury that's a little over the top. It was coined around 1910, inspired by the famously elegant Ritz Hotels (™) that César Ritz opened starting internationally in the late 19th century. Because these hotels were so opulent, his last name came to be associated with elegance and luxury. It also inspired the phrase "putting on the ritz," or dressing fashionably. If everyone at your friend's fancy party is wearing ball gowns and tuxedos, you might say, "Wow, look at this ritz!"

Definitions of ritz
  1. noun
    ostentatious display of elegance, originating from chain of hotels founded by Cesar Ritz
    “they put on the ritz
    see moresee less
    type of:
    fanfare, flash, ostentation
    a gaudy outward display
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