bon ton

noun

The height of fashion; fashionable society.

Similar
societyhigh societybeau mondesmart set
OriginFrench bon ton →
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Meanings

nounbon ton (uncountable)
  1. dateduncountableThe height of fashion; fashionable society.

    This part of the proposition is very popular, particularly with the higher and middle classes, because it is the fashion, and a mark of bon ton, to enclose one's letter in an envelope, even though, or perhaps because, it subjects it to double postage.

    1839, The Quarterly Review, volume 64, page 555

Synonyms & antonyms

nounthe fashionable elite

Similar
societyhigh societybeau mondesmart set
Broader
eliteelite group
Also see
beau mondehigh societysmart setsociety

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Frenchbon ton
  2. Englishbon ton

Borrowed from French bon ton (literally “good tone”).

More words from French

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

bon ton. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bon%20ton

MLA

“bon ton.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bon%20ton. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “bon ton,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bon%20ton.

Source: bon ton on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.