lanky
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of lanky
Explanation
Use the adjective lanky to describe someone who’s tall, thin, and a little bit gawky. A lanky person is not only tall and thin but also a little bit awkward. You wouldn’t use lanky to describe a tall, slender person who moves gracefully. Instead use lanky to describe someone who moves clumsily on his long limbs. You’ve probably seen a lanky basketball player who moves awkwardly but is still able to make the play, or a lanky teenager who seems to be made up entirely of long legs and long arms.
Vocabulary lists containing lanky
15 Synonyms for "Thin": An Eileen Ford (1922-2014) Tribute List
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"The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak, Part Eight
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Life Is So Good
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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:
Instead of letting the lanky, nearly 7-foot Durant corral the loose ball, the 6-foot-3 Smart dove to secure it for himself.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 22, 2026
Flament grew up in Belgium, but, finding no way into the French club system, moved to Loughborough University for its rugby programme, arriving as a lanky fly-half and initially playing for the university's fifth team.
From BBC ● Feb. 26, 2026
A lanky, six-foot-five 72-old, Druckenmiller got his start in the trust department of Pittsburgh National Bank, before running mutual funds for Dreyfus.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 2, 2026
At 6-foot-4 and 200 pounds, Michael was still growing into his lanky frame and taking classes at Ohio State.
From Slate ● Jan. 13, 2026
She’s short and plump, he’s tall and lanky.
From "On the Come Up" by Angie Thomas
With N’Faly Dante on the bench in foul trouble, the athletic big man bulled his way through Oregon’s lankier frontcourt players for a trio of three-point plays.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 2, 2023
For starters, Floyd is taller and lankier than Fowler, who finally channeled his tremendous physical gifts into a career-high 11 1/2 sacks and 16 quarterback hits last season.
From Washington Times ● May 11, 2020
“We find it works better on taller, lankier golfers,” Sherburne said.
From Golf Digest ● Apr. 30, 2019
He’s lankier but has the same eyes, impenetrable bits of brown seaglass below that high forehead.
From Washington Post ● Jun. 19, 2018
Next to her were Pierrot and Jackson, lankier by five or six inches, wedged between the outlines of their estranged parents.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
Brittany Davis longed for a big dog, and she had her heart set on one of the largest and lankiest of all: a Great Dane.
From Washington Post ● May 12, 2022
With their length across the roster, the Bucks possess one of the lankiest teams in the NBA — as well as one of the best players in the league.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 6, 2018
The Wizards made defense look fun Monday night, trading feats of athleticism with one of the lankiest and sprightly teams in the NBA.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 20, 2017
First, no other quadrupeds underwent such a conversion: the giraffe remained the lankiest thing around.
From The New Yorker ● May 17, 2016
Some of the competitors were poorly developed but the lankiest and skinniest were often excellent wrestlers.
From The Foundations of Japan Notes Made During Journeys Of 6,000 Miles In The Rural Districts As A Basis For A Sounder Knowledge Of The Japanese People by Scott, J.W. Robertson
Definitions 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.
