rangy
Americanadjective
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(of animals or people) slender and long-limbed.
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given to or fitted for ranging or moving about, as animals.
adjective
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(of animals or people) having long slender limbs
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adapted to wandering or roaming
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allowing considerable freedom of movement; spacious; roomy
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of rangy
Explanation
People who are rangy are tall and thin, with long arms and legs. You could describe a skinny young basketball player as rangy. This adjective most often describes someone who's very tall and slim, or even a little gawky, like a teenager with big feet and long legs who hasn't finished growing and is awkward in their own body. More rarely, rangy means "tending, allowed, or allowing to roam," like a rangy stray dog or a wide, rangy field. It comes from the verb range, or "move freely over a wide area."
Vocabulary lists containing rangy
One of Us Is Lying
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Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
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The Birchbark House
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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.
An old soul with with a huge, commanding voice, his catalog hovers between the orchestral swoon of pre-rock ballads, the pristine melodies of Anita Baker and the rangy, resilient yearning of his hometown’s soul tradition.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 13, 2026
Hawke’s rangy crusader happens to be a magnet for that type of trouble.
From Salon • Sep. 23, 2025
Sing is probably the best kicker in the Red Roses squad, striking the ball prodigous distances, and is a rangy runner with a powerful hand-off.
From BBC • Sep. 7, 2025
Like Sabalenka, the rangy Rybakina relies on her power from the baseline - particularly dominating opponents with her thunderous serve.
From BBC • Aug. 29, 2025
She was surprised to see a “pale and rangy fellow,” a blan like her, appearing totally at ease in a town where white people were not common.
From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French
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.
