adjective
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(of a place, esp a marsh) abounding in reeds
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of or like a reed
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having a tone like a reed instrument; shrill or piping
a reedy voice
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of reedy
Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; see origin at reed, -y 1
Explanation
Use the adjective reedy to describe someone who's tall and thin, or a sound that's high-pitched. The reedy singer in your middle school choir might have a reedy voice. Reedy people are lanky and tall, with long, slender legs that resemble reeds, the broad-leafed grasses that grow in marshy areas. Reedy sounds, on the other hand, seem to be made from a reed (or woodwind) instrument, like a clarinet. So your reedy singing voice is high and thin, rather than bold and deep like your father's baritone.
Vocabulary lists containing reedy
Home of the Brave
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"When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d" by Walt Whitman
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Slaughterhouse-Five
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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:
As Jay waddles into the water, the waves seem to want to shove the reedy young man back to shore.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026
Mr. Lavers and Ms. McGrory sing on nearly every cut, and it’s sometimes hard to tell their thin and reedy voices apart.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026
It is a little strange to see the presumptive mayor of New York City break bread with comedians like Mullen and Halkias in the reedy territory in which they operate.
From Slate ● Jun. 26, 2025
She plowed right past it, sounding exactly alike in both: slightly reedy, husky yet clarion, unaffected but full of comment and character.
From New York Times ● Jan. 30, 2024
His throat had begun to bother him; his voice had gone hoarse and reedy.
From "Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel" by David Guterson
The pink Tux speaks in a resonant bass voice; Fanny, who’s purple, speaks in higher, reedier tones; and both of them speak Russian throughout.
From The New Yorker ● May 28, 2019
Shannon's Elvis voice isn't the burbling baritone of countless lounge-act Elvis impersonators but rather something reedier and softer, with a shy charm and sly confidence.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 30, 2016
It’s disorienting to hear C-3PO’s voice, which is higher and reedier than Daniels’ own, emerging from the lips of this gentle white-haired man in jeans and a checked shirt.
From The Guardian ● Sep. 3, 2015
Bush's voice was reedier than usual, his introductory praise of Reagan awkwardly effusive, his applause during Reagan's speech a shade overeager.
From Time Magazine Archive
Nasal voice, reedier than might be expected from his strong frame.
From Mrs. Warren's Profession by Bernard Shaw
In the reediest of voices Laura was forced to confess that she had never learnt Latin at all.
From The Getting of Wisdom by Henry Handel Richardson
The Little Loch was the rushiest and reediest little rascal that ever rustled, and he was on the very edge of the Moor.
From Recreations of Christopher North, Volume I (of 2) by John Lyde Wilson
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
