wiry
adjective
\ ˈwī(-ə)r-ē
\
\
wirier\ ˈwī-rē-ər
\;
wiriest
\;
wiriest
Definition of wiry
1a
archaic
: made of wire
b
: resembling wire especially in form and flexibility
the wiry coat of the Irish terrier wiry stems
c
of sound
: produced by or suggestive of the vibration of wire
the violinist … often let his tone go nasal and wiry— D. J. Henahan
2
: being lean, supple, and vigorous : sinewy
the wiry figure of a long-distance runner — Phoenix Flame
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Other Words from wiry
wirily
\ ˈwī-rə-lē
\
adverb
\
adverb
wiriness
\ ˈwī-rē-nəs
\
noun
\
noun
Examples of wiry in a Sentence
a man with long, wiry arms
She was lean and wiry from years of working out.
He has dark, wiry hair.
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Recent Examples on the Web
His physical stature is similar to Kevin Durant and his wiry 200-pound frame certainly needs some filling out, but McDaniels still plays with a good level of toughness despite his size. — Emily Caron, SI.com, "Jaden McDaniels Brings High Expectations, Potential to New-Look Washington," 9 Sep. 2019 At times, Clemson looked like an out-of-place, wiry middle school kid, getting tossed around in physical coverage by players who outweighed him by 30-to-40 pounds. — oregonlive.com, "Darrius Clemons, 2022 Westview WR, garnering national attention, visiting Beavers, Ducks," 28 Aug. 2019 Like the wiry Spaniard, Carpenter belongs to that freak subset of endurance athletes to have recorded a VO2-max over 90. — Martin Fritz Huber, Outside Online, "Will Kilian Jornet Break Running’s Toughest Record?," 23 Aug. 2019 Marcus Semien blasted a two-run homer in the third, deep to left, and the wiry leadoff hitter’s power is starting to scare people. — Scott Ostler, SFChronicle.com, "New pitcher Puk and old ballpark give A’s big advantage," 21 Aug. 2019 Above all, Invader Zim worked because its wiry alien fingers tapped directly into the nonconformist weirdo tendencies that lurk in growing children. — Sam Machkovech, Ars Technica, "Invader Zim: Enter the Florpus," 16 Aug. 2019 Two wiry antennae sprouted from the top of its head, each topped with an eye the size of a ping-pong ball. — Mary Ann Grossmann, Twin Cities, "New children’s books cover a lot of territory: first steps, sci-fi and math, and Little Free Libraries," 11 Aug. 2019 The wiry Mr Flint, by contrast, completes triathlons and was an HSBC lifer, joining from university in 1989. — The Economist, "The surprising departure of HSBC’s chief executive," 8 Aug. 2019 By the time the players showed up for training camp in late July, more than a few of them had added significant weight to once-wiry frames. — Alex Putterman, courant.com, "New strength coach Matt King brings energy — lots and lots of energy — to UConn football," 6 Aug. 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'wiry.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for wiry
wiry
adjective
English Language Learners Definition of wiry
: very thin but strong and muscular
: stiff like wire
See the full definition for wiry in the English Language Learners Dictionary
wiry
adjective
\ ˈwīr-ē
\
\
wirier;
wiriest
Kids Definition of wiry
1
: being slender yet strong and muscular
2
: coarse and stiff
wiry hair