stocky
Americanadjective
-
of solid and sturdy form or build; thick-set and, usually, short.
-
having a strong, stout stem, as a plant.
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of stocky
First recorded in 1350–1400, stocky is from the Middle English word stokky. See stock, -y 1
Explanation
The adjective stocky means wide and sturdy. The big, strong guy who works tossing heavy boxes up on a loading dock at a warehouse is stocky. People who are stocky tend to be somewhat short and fairly heavy. Your stocky next-door neighbor is strong and solid, and his stocky bull dog is too. Interestingly, stocky meant "made of wood" back in 1400, and it was also used to distinguish "weedy" plants from more woody ones. Stocky has evolved since then to describe people with bodies "like tree trunks."
Vocabulary lists containing stocky
On the Come Up
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"American History" by Judith Ortiz Cofer
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The Son of Neptune
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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.
Born in 1860 in the rural northwest of Pennsylvania, Frisbee was a stocky, mustached man with many strings to his bow.
From Barron's • Apr. 13, 2026
Ron, a New Yorker from Long Island, was Vince’s stocky, tattooed business partner.
From Slate • Jan. 13, 2026
Qualifications: experience working with children, stocky build, own big, white beard an advantage.
From BBC • Dec. 17, 2025
Architect Paul R. Williams’ Guardian Angel Cathedral, which opened in the city in 1963, is cited as a design influence, as are the singular stocky trunk baobab trees of the African savanna.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 17, 2025
One of them, to Kit’s amusement, had given his name as Jonathan Ashby, a serious, stocky small edition of his brother William.
From "The Witch of Blackbird Pond" by Elizabeth George Speare
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.
