briny
1 Americanadjective
noun
adjective
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of briny1
First recorded in 1600–10; brine + -y 1
Origin of briny2
Explanation
If something is briny, it's wet and salty, like seawater. You should probably rinse out your briny swimsuit and hang it to dry in the sun. Salty ocean water is briny, and seafood often tastes a bit briny as well: "I love these briny oysters, but my brother can't stand them." Your brother may also like to keep his feet on the beach while you dive into the briny water. In the 17th century, briny was originally used to describe tears. The Old English root is bryne, "water saturated with salt."
Vocabulary lists containing briny
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The lake's extreme briny environment sustains algae blooms that attract flamboyances of pink flamingos that thrive in the area.
From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026
A deluge of sour, briny snacks has infiltrated the market.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
Those samples contain substantial evidence that briny fluids once existed just beneath the surfaces of their parent asteroids.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 8, 2026
It’s crunchy, briny, rich and just chaotic enough to keep you going back in for another scoop.
From Salon ● Apr. 28, 2026
A familiar briny breeze floats by, filling my nose with a salty scent.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
I savored the creamy interior, brinier than a sea urchin but similar in texture.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 28, 2021
Normally the purest river in the European part of the Soviet Union, the Dniester became "brinier than the saltiest sea water," in Vasilyev's words.
From Time Magazine Archive
Denied the simpler masculine pleasures, guys cook up the most elaborate schoolboy pranks; the brinier the life, the earthier the lingo.
From Time Magazine Archive
Little clouds of faint violet-coloured mist rise from the lower and brinier portions of the pack, which stretches unbroken to the horizon.
From South: the story of Shackleton's 1914-1917 expedition by Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton
The house oysters, Blackstone Points, had a seaweed whiff and creamy aftertaste; heftier Pleasant Cove Oysters were the briniest of the 11 types I had on my trip.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 29, 2026
The menu lists them from mildest to briniest, and the selection rotates regularly, depending on local farmer availability.
From Salon ● Jul. 30, 2021
His briniest hour: Churchill trod carefully as he emerged from the Channel Tatler noted that the Churchills were enjoying themselves "far from the madding crowd's ignoble strife".
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2011
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
