lankier; lankiest
: ungracefully tall and thin
Examples of lanky in a Sentence
the lanky basketball star was great at slam-dunking
Recent Examples on the Web
The long, lanky defender appealed to Magid because of his story, experience at two different programs and international ties.
—
Mike Kaye, Charlotte Observer, 19 Apr. 2024
In addition to his win total, Holtzman, who at 6 feet 2 inches and 175 pounds cut a lanky figure, had a career earned run average of 3.49 and was chosen for the 1972 and 1973 All-Star teams.
—Richard Sandomir, New York Times, 16 Apr. 2024
Despite its resemblance to a zebra thanks to its striped hindquarters – a likeness that originally duped scientists into classifying them as relatives of the zebra – the okapi shares evolutionary traits with its much taller and lankier cousin.
—Katie Liu, Discover Magazine, 11 Apr. 2024
Without that type of pruning the plant will tend to grow lanky and leggy.
—Neil Sperry, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 12 Apr. 2024
Image The dancers’ footwork starts out in fits and spurts, becoming more intricate, more full-bodied as Harris weaves slow motion within blissfully fast crossing feet and lanky arms.
—Gia Kourlas, New York Times, 13 Mar. 2024
On Wednesday night, lanky and sweet-voiced Josiah Benson played Little Michael, Brandon Lee Harris was the teen/young adult Michael and Roman Banks was the adult Michael, billed in the program as MJ.
—Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Mar. 2024
Before becoming one of the greatest NBA players in history, Jordan was a lanky freshman on a team led by James Worthy and Sam Perkins that spent 11 weeks at No. 1 in the AP Top 25 poll in 1981-82.
—John Marshall, USA TODAY, 10 Jan. 2024
The lanky son of Cold War-era Soviet emigres to the U.S. appears at occasional Moscow court sessions where he is kept penned in a plexiglass enclosure.
—Dan Morrison, USA TODAY, 29 Mar. 2024
Mike Kaye, Charlotte Observer, 19 Apr. 2024
In addition to his win total, Holtzman, who at 6 feet 2 inches and 175 pounds cut a lanky figure, had a career earned run average of 3.49 and was chosen for the 1972 and 1973 All-Star teams.
—Richard Sandomir, New York Times, 16 Apr. 2024
Despite its resemblance to a zebra thanks to its striped hindquarters – a likeness that originally duped scientists into classifying them as relatives of the zebra – the okapi shares evolutionary traits with its much taller and lankier cousin.
—Katie Liu, Discover Magazine, 11 Apr. 2024
Without that type of pruning the plant will tend to grow lanky and leggy.
—Neil Sperry, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 12 Apr. 2024
Image The dancers’ footwork starts out in fits and spurts, becoming more intricate, more full-bodied as Harris weaves slow motion within blissfully fast crossing feet and lanky arms.
—Gia Kourlas, New York Times, 13 Mar. 2024
On Wednesday night, lanky and sweet-voiced Josiah Benson played Little Michael, Brandon Lee Harris was the teen/young adult Michael and Roman Banks was the adult Michael, billed in the program as MJ.
—Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Mar. 2024
Before becoming one of the greatest NBA players in history, Jordan was a lanky freshman on a team led by James Worthy and Sam Perkins that spent 11 weeks at No. 1 in the AP Top 25 poll in 1981-82.
—John Marshall, USA TODAY, 10 Jan. 2024
The lanky son of Cold War-era Soviet emigres to the U.S. appears at occasional Moscow court sessions where he is kept penned in a plexiglass enclosure.
—Dan Morrison, USA TODAY, 29 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'lanky.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Lanky.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lanky. Accessed 27 Apr. 2024.
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