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reedy

[ree-dee]
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adjective, reed·i·er, reed·i·est.
  1. full of reeds: a reedy marsh.
  2. consisting or made of a reed or reeds: a reedy pipe.
  3. like a reed or reeds: reedy grass.
  4. having a sound like that of a reed instrument.
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Origin of reedy

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; see origin at reed, -y1
Related formsreed·i·ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

gangly, lanky, skinny, spindly, leggy, slim, slender, questionable, shaky, flimsy, dubious, nebulous, sketchy, delicate, insubstantial, fragile, lean, meager, gaunt, small

Examples from the Web for reedy

Historical Examples

  • The male voice was peculiar; it was, as I told you, reedy and nasal.

    The Room in the Dragon Volant

    J. Sheridan LeFanu

  • It was a reedy woman in a housecoat, her hair in curlers, her eyes red and swollen.

    Dream Town

    Henry Slesar

  • But she still bore that heathen name, which she had received in the reedy thicket.

    Debts of Honor

    Maurus Jkai

  • It was an hour before they found a little mud-pool in a reedy hollow.

  • "I've heard it all before," Rat said, with a note of boredom in his reedy voice.

    Starman's Quest

    Robert Silverberg

British Dictionary definitions for reedy

reedy

adjective reedier or reediest
  1. (of a place, esp a marsh) abounding in reeds
  2. of or like a reed
  3. having a tone like a reed instrument; shrill or pipinga reedy voice
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Derived Formsreedily, adverbreediness, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for reedy

adj.

late 14c., "full of reeds," from reed + -y (2), or from Old English hreodig. Of tones, from 1811 in reference to musical reeds. Related: Reediness.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper