leathery

adjective

leath·​ery ˈle-t͟hə-rē How to pronounce leathery (audio)
ˈlet͟h-rē
: resembling, characteristic of, or suggestive of leather
a leathery face
a leathery aroma

Examples of leathery in a Sentence

the old farmer's leathery, brown skin the leathery meat served in the cafeteria drove many of us to start bringing our own lunches
Recent Examples on the Web The earliest figures, naked and missing limbs, some suffering gouges or pocked with what look like the holes of beetle larvae, bring to mind eerie tales of automata or the leathery agonies of bog bodies. Peter Ross, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 Apr. 2023 Making her first appearance on The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon, the up-and-comer chose a leathery dress made of dark maroon panels that left a cutout pattern along the side. Elizabeth Logan, Glamour, 25 Jan. 2023 Testers were pleased by the spray's uniquely sweet and leathery scent that some Amazon reviewers compared to the Air Spencer CS-X3, meaning this may well be a more accessible dupe. Nikolas Greenwald, Good Housekeeping, 18 Jan. 2023 Jimmy Choo Man Blue is a composition of herby and peppery top notes, leathery middle notes, warm sandalwood and sensual vanilla. Dallas News, 30 Nov. 2022 The black vulture's leathery gray head, on the other hand, looks like a shoulder-length helmet set atop some ancient, otherworldly, airborne soldier. Jerry Butler, Arkansas Online, 31 Oct. 2022 Because a leathery little scamp like E.T. is lovable only in the uninhibited mind of a child; fear, distrust, and paranoia are born of experience and disappointment. Randall Colburn, EW.com, 16 May 2022 The plants’ leaves are so leathery, that a power blower shouldn’t do this. Neil Sperry, San Antonio Express-News, 18 Mar. 2022 Each embryo is immersed in nutritious fluids and encased in a leathery calcareous shell. Gabe Andrews, Scientific American, 31 Jan. 2022

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'leathery.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1552, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of leathery was circa 1552

Dictionary Entries Near leathery

Cite this Entry

“Leathery.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/leathery. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

leathery

adjective
leath·​ery ˈlet͟h-(ə-)rē How to pronounce leathery (audio)
: resembling leather in appearance or quality : tough
a leathery face
leathery leaves

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