adjective
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terse and full of meaning or substance
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of, resembling, or full of pith
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of pithy
Middle English word dating back to 1300–50; see origin at pith, -y 1
Explanation
A pithy phrase or statement is brief but full of substance and meaning. Proverbs and sayings are pithy; newspaper columnists give pithy advice. The root of this word is pith, which refers to the spongy tissue in plant stems, or the white part under the skin of citrus fruits. Pith is also used figuratively to refer to the essential part of something: They finally got to the pith of the discussion. Pith descends from Middle English, from Old English pitha "the pith of plants." In the adjective pithy, the suffix –y means "characterized by."
Vocabulary lists containing pithy
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The Glass Castle
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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:
Over lunch, Rutte offered a pithy proposal that would become his go-to strategy: Give Trump a win.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026
Sir Desmond, who is known for his pithy remarks in the Commons, has represented New Forest West for nearly 30 years.
From BBC ● May 21, 2026
They would funnel information and boil down data to pithy takeaways for their superiors.
From MarketWatch ● May 7, 2026
But like film, this pithy observation is often misinterpreted.
From Salon ● Jan. 24, 2026
You make friends and have a pithy little conversation with a girl, and you think you’ve succeeded, Craig?
From "It’s Kind of a Funny Story" by Ned Vizzini
Maybe something shorter and pithier, if you don’t mind, so I can end this article on a high note?
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 14, 2023
This edge looks rather delicate, I think — and I first learned it as the traditional edging style for the classic pithier pastry.
From Salon ● Oct. 3, 2021
For now, the new initiative is called the Collaborative Fund for Women’s Safety and Dignity, although there are plans to shift to a pithier name.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 14, 2019
It ends by suggesting that we "shorten the dignified designation Homo sapiens to the pithier and more accurate Homo sap."
From Scientific American ● Nov. 4, 2018
No finer or pithier Examples than in ye excellent Comedies and Tragedies following, full of sweet and wise discourse.
Gathering together some of the anthology’s pithiest and most striking quotations, Mr. Romm’s book is an intriguing and occasionally frustrating aperitif that doesn’t fully satisfy but is nonetheless stimulating.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 8, 2026
During the 1992 presidential primaries, one of the pithiest campaign slogans came from Democrat Paul Tsongas.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 20, 2022
The pithiest answers to my questions Monday came from Mariners reliever Paul Sewald.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 5, 2022
Section 230 versus the First Amendment One of the pithiest tech policy commentaries is a 2019 correction in The New York Times.
From The Verge ● Feb. 8, 2021
It was one of their pithiest sayings, and one of the wisest, too.
From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood
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.
