spindly

American  

[spind-lee] / ˈspɪnd li /

adjective

spindlier, spindliest

1. long or tall, thin, and usually frail.

   The colt wobbled on its spindly legs.

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spindly British  

/ ˈspɪndlɪ /

adjective

1. tall, slender, and frail; attenuated

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Etymology

Origin of spindly

First recorded in 1645–55; spindle + -y ¹

Explanation

Use the adjective spindly for people or objects that are thin and lanky. A newborn foal looks so vulnerable, with its spindly legs, but it's almost immediately able to stand up and walk. A spindle is a slim wooden rod used to spin wool, and spindly essentially means "like a spindle." You can use it to describe a skinny person's long, thin limbs, like a young ballerina's spindly arms or the spindly legs of an elementary school basketball team. Spindly objects tend to be fragile, too: "These spindly antique chairs make me nervous — I'll sit on the couch."

Example Sentences

A spindly plastic tube extended from my forehead to the “Eye Spa” machine.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 6, 2026

And it wasn’t lost on Rove that the spindly, excitable man narrating that story for them in a thick Hungarian accent “was once a 16-year-old picking up paving blocks and heaving them at Soviet tanks.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 12, 2026

And up on its sixth-story terrace you are above the rooftops of Harlem and can see, far to the south, Central Park and the cluster of spindly supertalls beyond.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 17, 2025

Phage remind me of a moon lander – a big capsule on spindly legs – just instead of landing on the surface of the moon they use their legs to select their victim.

From BBC • Jun. 27, 2025

I clear my throat and reach out, carefully sliding the container from her spindly fingers.

From "The Last Cuentista" by Donna Barba Higuera

Related Words

• elongated
• frail
• lanky
• rangy
• skinny
• slender