What does hick mean?
A hick is, in informal North American English, a person regarded as unsophisticated because of their rural background, limited education, or unfamiliarity with urban or cultural life. The term is often insulting, and its use has declined as attitudes toward rural people and country life have changed; it can also be used jokingly or as an affectionate self-description among friends. As an adjective, hick describes a place, style, or manner perceived as rustic or unsophisticated, as in “hick town” or “hick-style cooking.” Although the word can still communicate a broad idea of rural backwardness, it carries a condescending and potentially class-based tone. Its persistence in casual speech reflects older stereotypes about city dwellers and the countryside, making it useful chiefly when discussing those attitudes or in deliberately colloquial, humorous contexts.
An unsophisticated or uncultured person, especially one regarded as characteristic of rural life.
"The story portrays the protagonist as a naïve hick who has never left his home state."
Informal and usually derogatory; sometimes used jokingly or self-deprecatingly.
Characteristic of rural life or perceived as unsophisticated.
"They stopped at a hick roadside café for lunch."
Informal and often dismissive, especially when applied to a person.
The regular plural is used when referring to multiple people regarded as rural or unsophisticated.
"The novel portrays the hicks as perceptive outsiders who see through the town's pretensions."
The word “hick” is now mainly a label for rural simplicity, but its modern use carries a strong note of condescension rather than simple description.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does hick come from?
The precise origin of the word is uncertain. It appears in informal American English in the nineteenth century and is associated with rural people and country life; its development may involve a nickname or an earlier form of the term, but the exact historical pathway is not securely established.
How hick is actually used
The noun is informal and often derogatory, though it can be used humorously or self-deprecatingly. The adjective is similarly informal and is usually more insulting when applied to a person than when describing a place, style, or type of food.
Easily confused with hick
A hedge is a boundary formed by shrubs or bushes, whereas a hick is an unsophisticated person.
A heel is the back part of a foot or the pointed part of a shoe, not a person.