What does hipster mean?
A hipster is someone associated with alternative styles, cultural trends, or unconventional attitudes, particularly in fashion, music, food, and consumer choices. The word often carries an ironic edge: it may suggest both creative independence and a calculated effort to appear distinctive. A hipster can therefore be a genuine participant in a subculture, a habitual follower of fashionable trends, or someone whom others regard as performing nonconformity. The term is especially common in North America and the United Kingdom, and its social meaning varies according to the speaker’s perspective and the era in which it is used. It is best employed when the precise context is clear, since “hipster” can function as praise, criticism, or a humorous label for someone whose tastes mark them as different from the mainstream.
nounA person who is associated with contemporary, unconventional, or alternative styles, often in fashion, music, or culture. The term may be used approvingly or, in some contexts, critically to suggest that someone follows trends or adopts an image chiefly for fashionable distinction.
- A person associated with unconventional, alternative, or fashionable trends, especially in clothing, music, and consumer culture.
- A person perceived as following trends or adopting a distinctive image in order to signal cultural sophistication or individuality.
"She wore vintage clothes and vinyl records, but resisted any suggestion that she was merely a hipster."
"The café was full of hipsters drinking single-origin coffee and discussing obscure bands."
"His jacket and vinyl collection made him look like a hipster, though he had never knowingly joined any particular scene."
The regular plural is used when referring to multiple people associated with the relevant style or subculture.
"Several hipsters gathered in the converted warehouse to listen to an experimental band."
The hipster turned nonconformity into a marketable style—and then became the label people apply when conformity is dressed up as individuality.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of hipster
The word “hipster” was formed by adding the suffix “-ster” to “hip,” a term associated with stylishness, awareness, and the Beat subculture. It was used in the mid-20th century, notably among jazz musicians, before becoming widely associated with the counterculture of the 1960s and later with alternative fashion and music. The suffix “-ster” also occurs in words such as “barrister,” “songster,” and “spinster,” though their origins and meanings vary.
How hipster is actually used
The term can be neutral or approving when it refers to an active participant in a creative subculture, but it is often used critically, sometimes pejoratively, for people regarded as superficial, conformist in their rejection of convention, or excessively concerned with being seen as unconventional. Its meaning and social perception vary by region and generation.
Easily confused with hipster
A hippie is generally associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, whereas a hipster is usually associated with more recent alternative fashion, music, and consumer trends.