lithe
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of lithe
before 900; Middle English lith(e), Old English līthe; cognate with Old Saxon līthi, German lind “mild,” Latin lentus “slow”
Explanation
Have you ever seen people who can bend so easily, they can touch their heels to the back of their heads? Those people are, in a word, lithe. Lithe comes to us from Old English and originally meant "mild, meek." As a meek person bends to the will of others, the meaning of lithe has broadened to flexible and even graceful. Think of a dancer or the ease of a sleek cat when you think of lithe. You can use it to describe a person or the way someone moves.
Vocabulary lists containing lithe
Cat Vocabulary: A Feline Lexicon
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The Lightning Thief
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Ender's Game
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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.
These lithe creatures also have been observed in alpine areas of Oregon, but no population estimate is available there.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 10, 2026
The lithe physique of the rubber man of tennis enabled him to chase down seemingly lost causes and he combined a brutally efficient game with a rock-solid defence.
From Barron's • Jan. 31, 2026
With the lithe, athletic body of the ballerina, she was nothing like her fellow models.
From BBC • Dec. 28, 2025
If there’s one person who knows how to let a particularly awful year glide off her lithe, pilates-perfect back, it’s Gwyneth Paltrow.
From Salon • Dec. 22, 2025
Lala springs into action, lithe as a cheetah, and dashes to the bow of the ship.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
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.
