brawny

adjective \ ˈbrȯ-nē \

Definition of brawny

brawnier; brawniest

1 :muscular; also :strong, powerful

2 :being swollen and hard

a brawny infected foot

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brawnily

play \-nə-lē\ adverb

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brawniness

play \-nē-nəs\ noun

Examples of brawny in a Sentence

the store manager always asked the brawniest person there to do the heavy lifting
brawny arms that weren't developed in the gym but by years of work in the construction business

Recent Examples of brawny from the Web

Also, try this: Marvel Comics has made a special cover to promote this game, with a bellowing and brawny IU football player engaged in hand-to-hand combat with a scowling Brutus the Buckeye.

— gregg doyel, Indianapolis Star, "Doyel: Historic buzz for biggest IU football game in 50 years," 30 Aug. 2017
Two, wood chips provide more of a wisp than a plume of smoke, so your food won’t have that brawny, outdoorsy flavor.

— jim shahin, charlotteobserver, "Think you can’t get smoky flavors from a gas grill? Try this.," 29 Aug. 2017
This is a classic Wisconsin team — brawny on the lines with a brainy quarterback (Alex Hornibrook) and several appealing options at tailback.

— Detroit Free Press, "Big Ten preview: Reason to believe in each team in West Division," 27 Aug. 2017
Though their connection to climate is less obvious, the impacts could be just as deadly for these brawny beasts.

— maya wei-haas, Smithsonian, "To Understand the Elusive Muskox, Researchers Must Become Its Worst Fear," 2 Aug. 2017
On July 3, Night Moves will salute the brawny rock of Bob Seger at 5 p.m.

— bob kostanczuk, Post-Tribune, "Cedar Lake Summerfest keeps the party going June 30-July 4," 21 June 2017
For years, pigs were put on a diet, then served up lean and mean, without much internal fat to lubricate and flavor their brawny flesh.

— melissa clark, New York Times, "Fattier Pork Is Better Pork," 16 June 2017
His message that the pursuit of money amounts to a life wasted seems out of place at the Istanbul stock exchange, where an audience of investors gathered May 26 to listen to the brawny 41-year-old speak.

— isobel finkel, Bloomberg.com, "Erdogan’s ‘Tank Man’ Spreads Turkey’s New Patriotism," 8 June 2017
Diarra could provide the physical presence the Huskies missed against big, brawny frontcourts like Cincinnati's and SMU's.

— dom amore, courant.com, "UConn Men's Insider: Bring Your Program To Huskies' First Game," 8 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'brawny.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.