etiquette
noun
Simple meaning
The manners or decent behaviour to be observed in social or professional life.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
ehtuhkuhtSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈɛtəkət
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
The manners or decent behaviour to be observed in social or professional life; conventional decorum; the ceremonial code of polite society.
The customary behavior of members of a profession, business, law, or sports team towards each other.
A label used to indicate that a letter is to be sent by airmail.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: The manners or decent behaviour to be observed in social or professional life; conventional decorum; the ceremonial code of polite society.
Used this way, etiquette is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It suits considered writing and prepared speech.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Slightly formal
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Formal and ceremonial
- Usage feel
- Formal and precise
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use etiquette
- “Good table etiquette is important at formal dinners.”
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
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What Does It Mean Here?
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.