big-boned

adjective

Definition of big-bonednext
as in lanky

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Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of big-boned Two large and in charge ladies were involved in a street fight in West Hollywood early Saturday morning that left one of the big-boned women bleeding from her face. — Sean Joseph Outkick, FOXNews.com, 1 June 2026 Speaking of big dude, the chair is rated for the big-boned as well. — New Atlas, 5 Dec. 2025 Jean-Yves Thibaudet was the right guest in every way for the big-boned performance at the Huntington. — Los Angeles Times, 12 July 2025 The last time Jez Butterworth and Sam Mendes rode into Broadway on the back of a big-boned new play, smothered in five-star reviews and Olivier awards, there were geese, and babies, and bunnies. — Sara Holdren, Vulture, 29 Sep. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for big-boned
  1. lanky
  2. lean
  3. rangy
  4. skinny
  5. weedy
  6. wiry
  7. spindly
  8. reedy
Adjective
  • Also try trimming back the lanky shoots a few inches to encourage new growths with blooms.
    — Tom MacCubbin, The Orlando Sentinel, 25 July 2026
  • The lanky 26-year-old ascended the Astros’ pitching hierarchy as a starting pitcher but has blossomed into a swingman in Houston’s bullpen during his first full major-league season.
    — The Athletic MLB Staff, New York Times, 24 July 2026
Definition of lanky
Adjective
  • There are fewer integrations for lean IT teams to maintain, and easier connectivity to the other systems reduces maintenance demands.
    — Forbes.com, Forbes.com, 27 July 2026
  • Cordell Tinch closed out the meet with a lean at the finish line to take the 110-meter hurdles title over Bradley Franklin.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 26 July 2026
Definition of lean
Adjective
  • In most sub packages, the Steelers will tap into Payton Wilson’s rangy coverage abilities by lining him up next to Queen.
    — Mike DeFabo, New York Times, 21 July 2026
  • Carpenter noted that Slawson has been in the gym often and had worked on his decision making while also taking strides as a rangy defender.
    — Tony East, Forbes.com, 21 July 2026
Definition of rangy
Adjective
  • Work used to be a fat hamburger with skinny buns, as the meat of the work was the actual doing of the task.
    — Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 27 July 2026
  • However, with 1990s nostalgia fueling the return of matte minimalism in makeup, skinny brows aren’t going anywhere anytime soon.
    — Kaleigh Werner, Footwear News, 27 July 2026
Definition of skinny
Adjective
  • Jeon-Gi lives with his Korean family in Building A, scrapping with kids from other immigrant families in a weedy playground.
    — Hamilton Cain, Time, 7 July 2026
  • Your neighbors probably won't be bothered by your weedy flower beds or rusty lawn furniture.
    — Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 30 June 2026
Definition of weedy
Adjective
  • The Leeds quartet built a reputation on sardonic observations about modern life, packaging political unease inside wiry post-punk.
    — Sophie Miller, Rolling Stone, 19 July 2026
  • These flowering annuals produce an abundance of summer blooms on wiry stems.
    — Rita Pelczar, Better Homes & Gardens, 16 July 2026
Definition of wiry
Adjective
  • Across this paradise the finch-like honeycreeper flits, feeding off the red spindly flowers of the evergreen ‘ōhi‘a lehua tree.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 20 July 2026
  • Too few nutrients, or not enough fertilizer, for petunias looks like leggy, spindly growth, pale color, few or no blooms, and slow growth.
    — Andy Wilcox, Better Homes & Gardens, 14 July 2026
Definition of spindly
Adjective
  • The prosecutor, Johann Frischman, laid out, in a reedy voice, the criminal complaint.
    — William Finnegan, New Yorker, 29 June 2026
  • Among those acolytes is Lucien (Jérémy Gillet), a reedy, repressed young virgin who yearns to be part of the gay community but hasn’t the courage to come out to his domineering mother Christine (Elisabeth Wiener), who also just happens to be the country’s very right-wing health minister.
    — Guy Lodge, Variety, 23 May 2026
Definition of reedy

Browse Nearby Words

bigamy
big-boned
big box
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Cite this Entry

“Big-boned.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/big-boned. Accessed 1 Aug. 2026.

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