Word.ws English Dictionary

style

/staɪ.əl/UK/staɪl/

style noun: a sharp stick used for writing on clay tablets or other surfaces; a stylus; (by extension, obsolete) an instrument used to write with ink; a pen. Also the obsolete form of stile.

Noun

style (countable and uncountable, plural styles)

  1. (historical) A sharp stick used for writing on clay tablets or other surfaces; a stylus; (by extension, obsolete) an instrument used to write with ink; a pen.
    • Thus while his Thoughts the lingring Day beguile, / To gentle Arcite let us turn our Style; [...]1700, [John] Dryden, “Palamon and Arcite: Or, The Knight’s Tale. In Three Books.”, in Fables Ancient and Modern; […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC, book II, page 26
  2. A tool with a sharp point used in engraving; a burin, a graver, a stylet, a stylus.
    • From Job xix. 24. it appears to have been usual in his day, to write or engrave upon Plates of Lead, which might easily be done with a Pen, or Graver, or Style of Iron, or other hard metal.1821, James Townley, chapter I, in Illustrations of Biblical Literature, Exhibiting the History and Fate of the Sacred Writings, from the Earliest Period to the Present Century; […], volume I...
  3. The gnomon or pin of a sundial, the shadow of which indicates the hour.
    • Laſt of all fit a Triangular Iron, whoſe angular point being laid to the Center of the Dyal Plane, one ſide muſt agree with the Subſtilar Line, and its other ſide with the Stilar Line; ſo is the Stile made. And this Stile you muſt erect perpendicularly over the Subſtilar Line on the Dyal Plane, and...1697, Joseph Moxon, “Operat[ioni] II. To Describe a Dyal upon a Horizontal Plane.”, in Mechanick Dyalling: Teaching any Man, though of an Ordinary Capacity and Unlearned in Mathematicks, to Draw a...
  4. The stalk that connects the stigma(s) to the ovary in a pistil of a flower.
    • The calyx of Theophraſta is a ſmall, permanent perianthium, divided into five obtuſe ſegments, making obtuſe angles alſo with one another: [...] the ſtyle is ſubulated, and ſhorter than the corolla: the ſtigma is acute.1751, John Hill, A General Natural History: Or, New and Accurate Descriptions of the Animals, Vegetables, and Minerals of the Different Parts of the World; […], London: Printed for Thomas Osborne...
    Synonyms:
    stylet
  5. A kind of surgical instrument with a blunt point, used for exploration.
    Synonyms:
    stylet
  6. A small, thin, pointed body part.
    Synonyms:
    stylet
  7. A long, slender, bristle-like process near the anal region.
    • the anal styles of insects
    Synonyms:
    stylet
  8. (broadly) A particular manner of expression in writing or speech, especially one regarded as good.
    • May I not vvrite in such a ſtile as this? / In ſuch a method too, and yet not miſs / Mine end, thy good? vvhy may it not be done?1678, John Bunyan, “The Author’s Apology for His Book”, in The Pilgrim’s Progress from This World, to That which is to Come: […], London: […] Nath[aniel] Ponder […], →OCLC
    • Read Lord Bolingbroke's [book] with great attention, as well as to the ſtyle as to the matter. I wiſh you could form yourſelf ſuch a ſtyle in every language. Style is the dreſs of thoughts, and a well-dreſſed thought, like a well-dreſſed man, appears to great advantage.1752 January 21 (indicated as 1751 Old Style), Philip Dormer Stanhope, Earl of Chesterfield, “Letter CCVIII”, in Letters Written by the Late Right Honourable Philip Dormer Stanhope, Earl of...
    1. (broadly) A legal or traditional term or formula of words used to address or refer to a person, especially a monarch or a person holding a post or having a title.
      • Near-synonyms: term of address, form of address, title
      • Monarchs are often addressed with the style of Majesty.
    2. (broadly) A style name.
  9. A particular manner of creating, doing, or presenting something, especially a work of architecture or art.
    • [T]here are two distinct styles in history painting; the grand, and the splendid or ornamental. The great style stands alone, and does not require, perhaps does not so well admit, any addition from inferior beauties. The ornamental style also possesses its own peculiar merit. However, though the...1825, Joshua Reynolds, “Discourse IV. Delivered at the Royal Academy.”, in Discourses on Painting and the Fine Arts, Delivered at the Royal Academy, London: Printed for Jones and Co., […], →OCLC...
    • To our English tastes it is unnecessary to advocate the style of [Diego] Velazquez. [...] Sir Joshua [Reynolds], [George] Romney, and [Henry] Raeburn, whether from imitation or instinct, seem powerfully imbued with his style, and some of our own time, even to our landscape painters, seem to possess...1843, Allan Cunningham, chapter XI, in The Life of Sir David Wilkie; […] In Three Volumes, volume II, London: John Murray, […], →OCLC, page 472
    1. A particular manner of acting or behaving; (specifically) one regarded as fashionable or skilful; flair, grace.
      • As a dancer, he has a lot of style.
      • Backstabbing people is not my style.
    2. A particular way in which one grooms, adorns, dresses, or carries oneself; (specifically) a way thought to be attractive or fashionable.
    3. A visual or other modification to text or other elements of a document, such as boldface or italics.
      • applying styles to text in a wordprocessor Cascading Style Sheets
      • In today's assignment, you need to: [...] Right justify your heading in 12 point Helvetica font and plain text style.2001, Dee L. Fabry, Sally A. Seier, “Speaking, Technology, Analysis, and Reading through Research”, in Opening Doors to Reading: Building School-to-work Skills, Englewood, Colo.: Teacher Ideas Press...
    4. A set of rules regarding the presentation of text (spelling, typography, the citation of references, etc.) and illustrations that is applied by a publisher to the works it produces.
      • the house style of the journal
      • If you have to settle for an expert typist who has not completed recent dissertations for your school, buy two copies of the style manual, one for you and one for the typist.1993, Evelyn Hunt Ogden, “Spending Money and Using the 20th Century to Your Advantage”, in Completing Your Doctoral Dissertation or Master’s Thesis in Two Semesters or Less, 2nd edition, Lanham, Md....

Verb

style (third-person singular simple present styles, present participle styling, simple past and past participle styled)

  1. (transitive) To design, fashion, make, or arrange in a certain way or form (style).
  2. (formal, transitive) To call or give a name or title to.
    • The pope is styled His or Your Holiness.
    • […] Donenald O-Neale, rovvſed out of his lurking holes, in his miſsiue letters vnto the Pope, ſtileth himſelfe King of Vlſter, and in right of inheritance, the vndoubted Heire of all Ireland.1611, Iohn Speed [i.e., John Speed], “Elizabeth Qveene of England, France, and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, &c. the Sixtie One Monarch of the English Crowne, […]”, in The History of Great Britaine...
  3. (informal, transitive) To create for, or give to, someone a style, fashion, or image, particularly one which is regarded as attractive, tasteful, or trendy.
  4. (US, informal, intransitive) To act in a way which seeks to show that one possesses style.

Proper noun capitalized: Style

Style

  1. (slang) The ship of characters Stan Marsh and Kyle Broflovski from the South Park series.

Also used as

style is also the obsolete form of stile.

style meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

style in Hindi

manner of expression in writing or speech
शैली śailī
manner of creating, doing, or presenting something, especially a work of architecture or art
शैली śailī, अंदाज़ andāz
particular manner of acting or behaving; (''specifically'') one regarded as fashionable or skillful
शैली śailī
particular way in which one grooms, adorns, dresses, or carries oneself; (specifically) a way thought to be attractive or fashionable
शैली śailī

style in Tamil

பாணி, பாணியியல்

style in Marathi

शैली

style in Urdu

manner of creating, doing, or presenting something, especially a work of architecture or art
انداز andāz
More languagesFewer languages
style in Bengali
শৈলী, স্টাইল
style in Telugu
పద్ధతి paddhati, తరహా tarahā, శైలి śaili
style in Malayalam
ശൈലി, സ്റ്റൈൽ
style in Kannada
ಶೈಲಿ, ಶೈಲಿಯ, ಶೈಲಿಯು
style in Punjabi
ਸ਼ੈਲੀ, ਸਟਾਈਲ
style in Gujarati
શૈલી, સ્ટાઇલ
style in Odia
ଶୈଳୀ, ଷ୍ଟାଇଲ୍
style in Nepali
शैली
style in Tagalog
patindig
style in Arabic
أُسْلُوب ʔuslūb
style in Malay
stail, gaya
style in Indonesian
gaya, model
style in Persian
سبک sabk, استیل estil
style in Thai
รูปแบบ rûup-bɛ̀ɛp, ลีลา lii-laa, สไตล์ sà-dtai, ก้านชูเกสรตัวเมีย gâan-chuu-gee-sɔ̌ɔn-dtuua-miia
style in Vietnamese
cách điệu, kiểu dáng, phong cách, vòi nhụy

Examples of style in a sentence

  • The villagers styled him as my Liege, and this style, once established, was seldom forgone.
  • Methods for more "intelligent" spellchecking as well as for automatic checking of grammar and style are on the way, but they will require the support of electronic dictionaries.1995, “Perspectives”, in Henning Bergenholtz, Sven Tarp, editors, Manual of Specialised Lexicography: The Preparation of Specialised...
  • One ſtyle to a gracious benefactor, another to a proud, inſulting foe.1796, Edmund Burke, A Letter from the Right Honourable Edmund Burke to a Noble Lord [William Fitzwilliam, 4th Earl Fitzwilliam], on the...
  • [T]here are two distinct styles in history painting; the grand, and the splendid or ornamental.1825, Joshua Reynolds, “Discourse IV. Delivered at the Royal Academy.”, in Discourses on Painting and the Fine Arts, Delivered at the Royal...
  • His style is slow-build rave-up soul; the music, not the lyrics, relates the message.2004, Ethan Mordden, “Big Deals”, in The Happiest Corpse I’ve Ever Seen: The Last Twenty-Five Years of the Broadway Musical, New York...

All 40 example sentences with style

Synonyms of style

4 more synonymsFewer synonyms

All synonyms of style

Forms of style

Noun
pluralstyles
alternative formstile
alternative formstylee
Verb
third-person singular presentstyles
present participlestyling
past participlestyled
paststyled

Past tense of style: styled

Plural of style: styles

Origin of style

The noun is derived from Middle English stile (“writing tool; piece of written work; characteristic mode of expression; demeanour; person's designation or title; stem of a plant; period of time”) (compare semantic development to по́черк (póčerk, “handwriting, style”)), from Old French estile, or from Medieval Latin stylus, both from Latin stilus (“pointed instrument; writing tool; composition; characteristic mode of expression; stem of a plant”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)teyg- (“to be sharp; to pierce, prick, puncture, stab; to goad”). Doublet of stylus. The verb is derived from the noun. Cognates *Catalan estil (“engraving tool, stylus; gnomon; manner of doing something, style; fashionable skill, grace”) * German Stiel (“handle; stalk”) * Italian stilo (“needle, stylus; fountain pen; beam; gnomon; part of pistil, style”) * Occitan estil * Portuguese estilo (“writing tool, stylus; manner of doing something, style”) * Spanish estilo (“writing tool, stylus; manner of doing something, style; fashionable skill, grace; part of pistil, style”).

See etymology at stile.

Blend of Stan + Kyle.

Words formed from style

Phrases with style

33 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with style

48 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about style

What does style mean?
Style means a sharp stick used for writing on clay tablets or other surfaces; a stylus; (by extension, obsolete) an instrument used to write with ink; a pen.
What is style in Hindi?
Style in Hindi is शैली (śailī), अंदाज़ (andāz). See Style meaning in Hindi.
How do you use style in a sentence?
The villagers styled him as my Liege, and this style, once established, was seldom forgone.
What part of speech is style?
Style can be a noun, a verb or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce style?
Style is pronounced /staɪl/ (UK).
What is the plural of style?
The plural of style is styles.

Words near style in the dictionary

  1. stylasterid
  2. stylasterids
  3. stylasterine
  4. stylasters
  5. stylate
  6. style
  7. style brisé
  8. style guide
  9. style guides
  10. style it out
  11. style manual

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: style (page history and authors); Style (page history and authors); style (Tamil, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); style (Marathi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); style (Bengali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); style (Malayalam, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); style (Kannada, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); style (Punjabi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); style (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); style (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); style (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-us-style.ogg.

Cite this entry: “style.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/style. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.