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
- stockily adverb
- stockiness noun
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 then-Soviet Lithuania, the 53-year-old - tall, stocky, talkative - describes himself as ethnically Russian.
From BBC • Mar. 11, 2026
Ron, a New Yorker from Long Island, was Vince’s stocky, tattooed business partner.
From Slate • Jan. 13, 2026
“This is Edwin,” said one of them, nodding toward a stocky, ponytailed man in the group.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 13, 2025
Juan knew Perez, a stocky man with dark curly hair and a beard that trailed halfway down his chest, as “Paco.”
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 21, 2025
“Dumbledore cornered!” he said, and he turned to a stocky little woman who looked as though she could be his sister and who was grinning eagerly.
From "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling
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.
