stocky
Americanadjective
-
stockier,
comparative
-
stockiest
superlative
-
of solid and sturdy form or build; thick-set and, usually, short.
-
having a strong, stout stem, as a plant.
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
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.
See Examples For:
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
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
“This is Edwin,” said one of them, nodding toward a stocky, ponytailed man in the group.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2025
He looked like someone who screamed a lot; he was a stocky sort of guy with an almost permanently red face.
From "A Very Large Expanse of Sea" by Tahereh Mafi
Down the status and stature yardstick are the shorter, stockier Mediterranean fan palm as well as the jelly palm, whose fruit lives up to the name.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 20, 2025
A study of 170 Ironman contestants found tall, leggy runners performed better in warm climates, while shorter, stockier people had the upper hand in colder temperatures.
From BBC ● May 11, 2023
Dr. Scherer is shorter and stockier, with hair pulled into a ponytail and a beard that dusts his chin with gray.
From New York Times ● Sep. 13, 2022
He was built like an uncle, stockier than everybody in the cabin.
From Salon ● Jun. 11, 2022
Charlie was built like the twins, shorter and stockier than Percy and Ron, who were both long and lanky.
From "Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire" by J. K. Rowling
On paper, Iran's need for parts could be a boon for salvage firms and any second-hand stockiest who have had unwanted bits of the oldest types used by Iran accumulating dust for years.
From Reuters ● Nov. 28, 2013
But when in flats, to be again transplanted, the soil for the first sowing will be better for having no manure in it, the idea being to get the hardest, stockiest growth possible.
From Home Vegetable Gardening — a Complete and Practical Guide to the Planting and Care of All Vegetables, Fruits and Berries Worth Growing for Home Use by F. F. (Frederick Frye) Rockwell
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.
