healthy

American  

[hel-thee] / ˈhɛl θi /

adjective

healthier, healthiest

1. possessing or enjoying good health or a sound and vigorous mentality.

   a healthy body;

   a healthy mind.

   Synonyms:

   robust, hearty, hale

   Antonyms:

   sick

2. pertaining to or characteristic of good health or a sound and vigorous mind.

   a healthy appearance;

   healthy attitudes.

3. conducive to good health; healthful.

   healthy recreations.

   Synonyms:

   nourishing, nutritious

4. eligible for the Food and Drug Administration's label certifying that a food is suitable for helping consumers achieve a total diet that conforms to dietary recommendations.

5. prosperous or sound.

   a healthy business.

6. Informal. fairly large.

   I bought a healthy number of books.

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healthy British  

/ ˈhɛlθɪ /

adjective

1. enjoying good health

2. functioning well or being sound

   the company's finances are not very healthy

3. conducive to health; salutary

4. indicating soundness of body or mind

   a healthy appetite

5. informal considerable in size or amount

   a healthy sum

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Related Words

Healthy, healthful, salubrious, salutary, wholesome refer to the promotion of health. Healthy, while applied especially to what possesses health, is also applicable to what is conducive to health: a healthy climate; not a healthy place to be. Healthful and salubrious are applied chiefly to what is conducive to health: healthful diet or exercise; a salubrious impact on mental outlook. Salutary suggests something that is conducive to well-being generally, as well as beneficial in preserving or in restoring health: salutary effects; to take salutary measures. It is used also to indicate moral benefit: to have a salutary fear of devious behavior. Wholesome has connotations of attractive freshness and purity; it applies to what is good for one, physically, morally, or both: wholesome food; wholesome influences or advice.

Other Word Forms

• healthily
  adverb
• healthiness
  noun

Etymology

Origin of healthy

First recorded in 1545–55; health + -y ¹

Explanation

Healthy means having good health. It's the opposite of sick, but also can mean "doing well" in a general sense. You can have a healthy attitude, or be served a healthy portion of food. Health is one of the most fundamental human concerns. The ubiquitous "How are you?" is often asking after a person's health. To remember healthy think of the proverb: "Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy and wealthy and wise."

Example Sentences

“Stock investors have stayed upbeat in part because the earnings picture, especially in AI-capex-linked sectors, has remained healthy enough to sustain risk appetite,” UBS Global Wealth Management Chief Investment Officer Mark Haefele wrote on Thursday.

From Barron's • May 22, 2026

Seventeen-year-old Adam Ankers and 20-year-old Matthew Dunning were both keen footballers, fit, healthy and in the prime of their lives.

From BBC • May 22, 2026

More people are paying close attention to what they eat, often tracking calories, exercising daily, and filling their plates with foods that seem naturally healthy, including fruits and vegetables.

From Science Daily • May 22, 2026

A healthy consumer economy may get further support from a labor market that has looked more stable this spring than at the start of the year.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 22, 2026

“Combining the melanoma cells with healthy rat skin cells to see if we can replicate the kind of alteration in the subject’s anatomy.”

From "Boy 2.0" by Tracey Baptiste

Related Words

• active
• athletic
• fresh
• healthful
• hearty
• lively
• normal
• robust
• strong
• tough
• vigorous