noun
hipster
HIHP-stuh
noun
1
Someone who follows the latest trends, styles, and alternative culture, often self-consciously.
"The neighborhood filled with coffee shops and vintage stores popular with hipsters."
"He grew a beard and started wearing thick-framed glasses like every other hipster in town."
2
A member of a bohemian or countercultural scene.
"The old jazz clubs were full of hipsters in the 1950s."
How to Use Hipster
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishSomeone very tuned in to what's currently cool — often ironically, since the label is now mostly used to poke fun at people.
When to use it
Frequently used with a mocking or sarcastic tone rather than as a genuine compliment.
Common pairings
typical hipster
hipster café
hipster beard
Word Forms
hipstered past tense, hipsters plural, hipsters singular
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Etymology
From "hip" (fashionable, in the know) plus the suffix "-ster." First used in the 1920s, then reshaped in the 1940s from "hepster" to describe someone plugged into the latest jazz and fashion scene.