style

UK: /ˈstaɪl/ US: /staɪl/ ,(stīl)

Inflections of 'style' (v): (⇒ conjugate)

styles

v 3rd person singular

styling

v pres p

styled

v past

styled

v past p

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

style /staɪl/   n., v., styled, styl•ing. 
n. 

1. a particular sort, with reference to form, appearance, or character:
   [countable] different styles of houses.
2. a particular, special, or characteristic way of behaving:
   [countable] to do things in a grand style.
3. Clothing current fashion, as in clothes:
   [uncountable] clothes that are never out of style.
4. an elegant or luxurious way of living:
   [uncountable] to live in style.
5. Literature a characteristic way of expressing thought in writing or speaking:
   [countable] Her style of speaking is well organized.
6. a characteristic form of design or construction in any art or work:
   [countable] the Georgian style of architecture.
7. a special quality of originality, elegance, or flair:
   [uncountable] a person with style.
8. a person's special tastes, attitudes, and behavior:
   [uncountable] It's not his style to flatter people.
9. Journalism the rules of spelling, punctuation, and the like observed by a publisher:
   [uncountable] Follow the style for footnotes in your term paper.

v. [~ + object]

10. to call (oneself) by a given title or name;
    designate;
    name:
    [~ + oneself + object] He styles himself "Emperor of the Universe.''
11. Clothing to design or arrange in a given or new style:
    She styled my hair in a pageboy cut.

-style,¹ suffix. 

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

style (stīl),  n., v. styled, styl•ing. 

n. 

1. a particular kind, sort, or type, as with reference to form, appearance, or character:
   the baroque style; The style of the house was too austere for their liking.
2. a particular, distinctive, or characteristic mode of action or manner of acting:
   They do these things in a grand style.
3. a mode of living, as with respect to expense or display.
4. an elegant, fashionable, or luxurious mode of living:
   to live in style.
5. Clothing a mode of fashion, as in dress, esp. good or approved fashion;
   elegance;
   smartness.
6. Literature the mode of expressing thought in writing or speaking by selecting and arranging words, considered with respect to clearness, effectiveness, euphony, or the like, that is characteristic of a group, period, person, personality, etc.:
   to write in the style of Faulkner;
   a familiar style;
   a pompous, pedantic style.
7. Literature those components or features of a literary composition that have to do with the form of expression rather than the content of the thought expressed:
   His writing is all style and no substance.
8. manner or tone adopted in discourse or conversation:
   a patronizing style of addressing others.
9. a particular, distinctive, or characteristic mode or form of construction or execution in any art or work:
   Her painting is beginning to show a personal style.
10. a descriptive or distinguishing appellation, esp. a legal, official, or recognized title:
    a firm trading under the style of Smith, Jones, & Co.
11. Antiquity, Fine Art stylus (defs. 1, 2).
12. the gnomon of a sundial.
13. Time a method of reckoning time. Cf. New Style, old style (def. 2).
14. Zoology a small, pointed process or part.
15. Botany a narrow, usually cylindrical and more or less filiform extension of the pistil, which, when present, bears the stigma at its apex. See diag. under flower. 
16. Printing, Journalism the rules or customs of typography, punctuation, spelling, and related matters used by a newspaper, magazine, publishing house, etc., or in a specific publication.
17. Clothing go out of style, to become unfashionable:
    The jacket he's wearing went out of style ten years ago.
18. Clothing in style, fashionable.

v.t. 

19. to call by a given title or appellation;
    denominate;
    name;
    call:
    The pope is styled His or Your Holiness.
20. Clothing to design or arrange in accordance with a given or new style:
    to style an evening dress; to style one's hair.
21. Journalism to bring into conformity with a specific style or give a specific style to:
    Please style this manuscript.

v.i. 

22. Fine Art to do decorative work with a style or stylus.

• Latin stylus, spelling, spelled variant of stilus tool for writing, hence, written composition, style; see stylus
• Middle English (noun, nominal) 1250–1300

style′less, adj. 
style′less•ness, n. 
style′like′, adj. 
Synonyms

• 2. method, approach.
• 5. chic. See fashion. 
• 9. touch, characteristic, mark.
• 18. designate, address.

-style¹ ,

1. a combining form of style (defs. 14, 15):
   blastostyle.
   Cf. stylo- ¹.

-style² ,

1. a combining form with the meanings "column,'' "columned,'' "having columns (of the kind specified)'' used in the formation of compound words:
   orthostyle; urostyle.
   Cf. stylo- ².

• Greek stŷlos column or -stȳlos -columned, adjective, adjectival derivative of stŷlos

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

style / staɪl/ noun

1. a form of appearance, design, or production; type or make
2. the way in which something is done: good or bad style
3. the manner in which something is expressed or performed, considered as separate from its intrinsic content, meaning, etc
4. a distinctive, formal, or characteristic manner of expression in words, music, painting, etc
5. elegance or refinement of manners, dress, etc
6. prevailing fashion in dress, looks, etc
7. a fashionable or ostentatious mode of existence: to live in style
8. the particular mode of orthography, punctuation, design, etc, followed in a book, journal, etc, or in a printing or publishing house
9. the distinguishing title or form of address of a person or firm
10. the stalk of a carpel, bearing the stigma
11. a method of expressing or calculating dates
    See Old Style, New Style
12. another word for stylus1
13. the arm of a sundial

verb (mainly tr)

1. to design, shape, or tailor: to style hair
2. to adapt or make suitable (for)
3. to make consistent or correct according to a printing or publishing style
4. to name or call; designate: to style a man a fool

Etymology: 13th Century: from Latin stylus, stilus writing implement, hence characteristics of the writing, style

ˈstylar adjective

ˈstyler noun