burly

adjective

bur·​ly ˈbər-lē How to pronounce burly (audio)
burlier; burliest
: strongly and heavily built : husky
a burly man
burlily adverb
burliness noun

Examples of burly in a Sentence

a burly delivery man brought the furniture
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.
Atom, Kavalier’s burly enforcer. Noel Murray, Vulture, 24 Sep. 2025 Each year, the burly bears of Katmai National Park and Preserve capture global attention in a March Madness-style bracket challenge as fans pick which bear advances in each round. Eve Chen, USA Today, 22 Sep. 2025 Outside Beijing’s leadership compound, burly men in black tackled Yang’s mother to the ground. Sheryl Estrada, Fortune, 9 Sep. 2025 Instead, a burly butcher called Mihály (Grégory Gadebois) shows up at their door, claiming to be Andor’s father. Adam Solomons, IndieWire, 28 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for burly

Word History

Etymology

Middle English

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of burly was in the 13th century

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Burly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/burly. Accessed 1 Oct. 2025.

Kids Definition

burly

adjective
bur·​ly ˈbər-lē How to pronounce burly (audio)
burlier; burliest
: strongly and heavily built
a burly man
burliness noun

More from Merriam-Webster on burly

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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