noun · verb · 9 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
UK:/ˈhɪp.stə/
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
US:/ˈhɪp.stɚ/
CMU ARPABET:HH IH1 P S T ER0
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
A person who is hip, being keenly interested in the latest trends or fashions.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Examples
c. 1954, Jack Kerouac, Untitled poem, in Book of Sketches, 1952-57, Penguin, 2006, p. 239, I, poor French Canadian Ti Jean become / a big sophisticated hipster esthete in / the homosexual arts [...]
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Examples
Near-synonym: hippie
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: hippie
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
An aficionado of jazz who considers themselves to be hip.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Examples
Near-synonym: hippie
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: hepcat, hippie
Antonyms: none provided
4
noun
Meaning 4
A person who wears a hip flask (of alcohol).
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: US, obsolete
Qualifier: Prohibition
Examples
(from Kentucky backcountry moonshine)
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: vial villain, gentleman from Kentucky
Antonyms: none provided
5
noun
Meaning 5
A dancer, particularly a female one during the 1930s.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: US, historical, obsolete
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
6
noun
Meaning 6
Underwear with an elastic waistband at hip level.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
7
verb
Meaning 7
To behave like a hipster.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: informal, intransitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
8
verb
Meaning 8
To dress or decorate in a hip fashion.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: informal, intransitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
9
noun
Meaning 9
someone who rejects the established culture; advocates extreme liberalism in politics and lifestyle
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: hippie, hippy, flower child
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: reformer, reformist, crusader, social reformer, meliorist
History
Etymology
From hip + -ster. First attested for someone carrying something on their hip in the U.S. in the 1920s. Attested as a variant of hepster in the 1940s, for a follower of the latest fashions/trends/styles.
Across languages
Translations
22 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Dutch:
hipster
— person interested in the latest trends
Esperanto:
hipstero
— person interested in the latest trends
Finnish:
hipsteri
— person interested in the latest trends
Georgian:
ჰიფსტერი
(hipsṭeri)
— person interested in the latest trends
German:
Hipster
— person interested in the latest trends
German:
Hipsterin
— person interested in the latest trends
Greek:
χίπστερ
(chípster)
— person interested in the latest trends
Hungarian:
hipszter
— person interested in the latest trends
Japanese:
ヒップスター
(Hippusutā)
— person interested in the latest trends
Macedonian:
хипстер
(hipster)
— person interested in the latest trends
Macedonian:
помодар
(pomodar)
— person interested in the latest trends
Marathi:
हिप्स्टर
(hipsṭar)
— person interested in the latest trends
Polish:
hipster
— person interested in the latest trends
Portuguese:
hipster
— person interested in the latest trends
Russian:
хи́пстер
(xípstɛr)
— person interested in the latest trends
Spanish:
modernillo
— person interested in the latest trends
Spanish:
gafapasta
— person interested in the latest trends
Spanish:
hipster
— person interested in the latest trends
Swedish:
hipster
— person interested in the latest trends
Swedish:
trendnisse
— person interested in the latest trends
