Meaning & use
ritz
Last updated
UK/rɪts/
US/rɪts/
Meaning
noununcountableinformalold-fashioned
Showy luxury and fancy style, often found in the phrase put on the ritz.
Grammar: Mostly in the idiom put on the ritz; avoid using alone.
Patterns
- put on the ritz
They really put on the ritz for the wedding.
The hotel puts on the ritz every New Year's Eve.
We don't need the ritz; a simple dinner is fine.
Common combinations
- put on the ritz
- They put on the ritz for the anniversary party.
- ritzy hotel
- We stayed in a ritzy hotel.
- all the ritz
- The gala had all the ritz of a royal ball.
- ritz and glamour
- The film is full of ritz and glamour.
Synonyms and how they differ
- glamour
- Glamour is attractive charm, while ritz stresses showy luxury.
- luxury
- Luxury is neutral for comfort and expense, but ritz suggests display.
- splendor
- Splendor is formal and impressive, whereas ritz is casual and playful.
Opposites
Word family
- ritzy adjective
- fancy and expensive
- ritzily adverb
- in a luxurious, showy way
- ritziness noun
- the quality of being ritzy
Commonly confused: ritz or glitz?
ritz vs glitz
Glitz is flashy, shiny show; ritz is stylish luxury, though the two are often used together.
Practice
For their wedding anniversary, the couple decided to ______ at a fancy restaurant.
Choose one answer.
Put on the ritz means to dress and act in a fancy way. The other phrasal verbs exist but have unrelated meanings.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “ritz”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.
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