wiry

[wahyuhr-ee]

adjective

wirier, wiriest 

1. made of wire.

2. in the form of wire.

3. resembling wire, as in form, stiffness, etc..

   wiry grass.

4. lean and sinew.

   a wiry little person.

5. produced by or resembling the sound of a vibrating wire.

   wiry tones.

wiry

/ ˈwaɪərɪ /

adjective

1. (of people or animals) slender but strong in constitution

2. made of or resembling wire, esp in stiffness

   wiry hair

3. (of a sound) produced by or as if by a vibrating wire

Other Word Forms

• wirily adverb
• wiriness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of wiry¹

First recorded in 1580–90; wire + -y ¹

Example Sentences

With his wiry frame and shy eyes, the British actor has demonstrated in films such as “La Chimera” and “The Mastermind” an appetite for soft-spoken characters who exude a gentle masculinity.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The aboatia hooks his wiry tail around what looks like a hockey puck on the ground and hurls it at me.

Read more on Literature

He was a small, wiry fellow in a long checkered coat.

Read more on Literature

Gretzky had scored at a devastating clip for an absurdly long time—20 NHL seasons that saw him turn from a wiry 18-year-old into the league’s elder statesman.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

A small, wiry, pockmarked young man with curly hair and a hard-to-place accent, he loitered in the area for hours, asking kitchen workers if his target would be coming that way.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• agile 
• athletic 
• limber 
• muscular 
• sinewy 
• strapping 
• supple