lankier; lankiest
: ungracefully tall and thin
lankily adverb
lankiness noun
Choose the Right Synonym for lanky

lean, spare, lank, lanky, gaunt, rawboned, scrawny, skinny mean thin because of an absence of excess flesh.

lean stresses lack of fat and of curving contours.

a lean racehorse

spare suggests leanness from abstemious living or constant exercise.

the gymnast's spare figure

lank implies tallness as well as leanness.

the lank legs of the heron

lanky suggests awkwardness and loose-jointedness as well as thinness.

a lanky youth, all arms and legs

gaunt implies marked thinness or emaciation as from overwork or suffering.

a prisoner's gaunt face

rawboned suggests a large ungainly build without implying undernourishment.

a rawboned farmer

scrawny and skinny imply an extreme leanness that suggests deficient strength and vitality.

a scrawny chicken
skinny street urchins

Examples of lanky in a Sentence

the lanky basketball star was great at slam-dunking
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The long, lanky wing has three blocks, five steals and six offensive rebounds over his 69 minutes of floor time, and he’s scored in double figures twice. Zack Cox, Boston Herald, 18 July 2025 From rotund Oliver Hardy pairing with lanky Stan Laurel to Jack Black becoming our go-to PG party animal, bigger men have always had a place in comedy. Alison Willmore, Vulture, 16 July 2025 The lanky suspect, who was caught on camera toting a backpack and carrying a paper shopping bag in the crook of his arm, attacked his first victim, a 25-year-old woman, at about 2:05 a.m. on May 17 at the border of SoHo and Greenwich Village, cops said. Thomas Tracy, New York Daily News, 12 July 2025 At a lanky 6-foot-9, Essengue is more of a wing than a center. Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 10 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for lanky

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1818, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of lanky was circa 1818

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Lanky.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lanky. Accessed 6 Aug. 2025.

Kids Definition

lanky

adjective
lankier; lankiest
: being tall, thin, and usually loose-jointed
a lanky teenager
lankily adverb
lankiness noun

More from Merriam-Webster on lanky

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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