spry

[sprahy]

See more synonyms for spry on Thesaurus.com

adjective, spry·er, spry·est or spri·er, spri·est.

active; nimble; agile; energetic; brisk.

Origin of spry

First recorded in 1740–50; origin uncertain

Related formsspry·ly, adverbspry·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for spry

Contemporary Examples

Last year, at the less than spry age of 34, he broke two bones in his back while leading his Everton team to an FA Cup win.
Team USA Lost, but Tim Howard Is a Winner
Emily Shire
July 1, 2014
On YouTube, Letterman was no match for his spry, versatile competition.
Stephen Colbert and the Viral Video-Fueled Generation Hijack Late Night
Jason Lynch
April 11, 2014
Listening on the other side of the court was Edith Windsor herself, a spry 83-year-old with bright eyes and a pixie-like smile.
Edie Windsor, the Widow Taking On DOMA
Steven Thrasher
March 27, 2013
Once more, Zoppé: An Italian Family Circus—170 years old and spry as ever—is off and running.
Giovanni Zoppé’s Real-Life Family Circus
Malcolm Jones
October 21, 2012
Renowned fitness guru Jack LaLanne died yesterday, still dashing and spry just four years shy of 100.
Jack LaLanne's 10 Health Habits
The Daily Beast
January 24, 2011

Historical Examples

He was old and snowy haired, but as fresh as a daisy and as spry as a cricket.
Sure Pop and the Safety Scouts
Roy Rutherford Bailey
We have to be spry about these things if we ever intend to get wedded at all.
Brighter Britain! (Volume 1 of 2)
William Delisle Hay
Little Thunder was too spry to be caught by even a pursuing bullet.
The Strollers
Frederic S. Isham
He's that spry and full of jokes and he's gettin' right spoony.
In a Little Town
Rupert Hughes
I finds him walkin' around the grounds as spry as a two-year-old.
Shorty McCabe
Sewell Ford

British Dictionary definitions for spry

spry

adjective spryer, spryest, sprier or spriest

active and brisk; nimble

Derived Formsspryly, adverbspryness, noun

Word Origin

C18: perhaps of Scandinavian origin; compare Swedish dialect spragg sprig

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 spry

adj.

1746, dialectal, perhaps a shortening and alteration of sprightly, or from a Scandinavian source (cf. Old Norse sprækr, dialectal Swedish sprygg "brisk, active"), from Proto-Germanic *sprek-, from PIE *(s)preg- "to jerk, scatter" (see sparse).

spry

Origin of .css-1fxfie5{font-size:22px;}@media (max-width:768px){.css-1fxfie5{font-size:18px;margin:0 10px 10px 0;word-break:break-all;word-wrap:break-word;-webkit-hyphens:auto;-moz-hyphens:auto;-ms-hyphens:auto;hyphens:auto;line-height:22px;}}spry

Examples from the Web for spry

Contemporary Examples

Last year, at the less than spry age of 34, he broke two bones in his back while leading his Everton team to an FA Cup win.

On YouTube, Letterman was no match for his spry, versatile competition.

Listening on the other side of the court was Edith Windsor herself, a spry 83-year-old with bright eyes and a pixie-like smile.

Once more, Zoppé: An Italian Family Circus—170 years old and spry as ever—is off and running.

Renowned fitness guru Jack LaLanne died yesterday, still dashing and spry just four years shy of 100.

Historical Examples

He was old and snowy haired, but as fresh as a daisy and as spry as a cricket.

We have to be spry about these things if we ever intend to get wedded at all.

Little Thunder was too spry to be caught by even a pursuing bullet.

He's that spry and full of jokes and he's gettin' right spoony.

I finds him walkin' around the grounds as spry as a two-year-old.

spry

Word Origin

Word Origin and History for spry

adj.

Origin of spry