sprier or spryer
ˈsprī(-ə)r 
; spriest or spryest
ˈsprī-əst
; spriest or spryest
ˈsprī-əst
: able to move quickly, easily, and lightly : nimble sense 1
—used especially to describe an older person
a spry 75-year-old
… his spry libidinous grandfather …—
Stanley Kauffmann
Stanley KauffmannMatthew is getting up in years, you know—he's sixty—and he isn't so spry as he once was.—Charles Keller
Charles Keller
spryly
adverb
… hopping spryly onto a treadmill.
—Heather King
Heather King
Then there's his trumpet playing, which he still does spryly at the age of 82, with its dusty allure intact.
—Giovanni Russonello
Giovanni Russonello
spryness
noun
… he still has a boyish spryness although he's in his late forties.
—Adam Mars-Jones
Adam Mars-Jones
Examples of spry in a Sentence
an older woman who's still surprisingly spry
Recent Examples on the Web
With the weight positioned at the bottom of the rig and a twitchy, spry soft plastic hovering and dancing a foot above it, the idea is the bait can be shaken in place for a long time, coaxing lock-jawed fish into biting without your offering ever leaving the zone.
—Joe Cermele, Outdoor Life, 26 Mar. 2025
Though Stafford is still spry enough to elude pressure, interior pressure is especially hard on older quarterbacks.
—Ted Nguyen, The Athletic, 17 Jan. 2025
His voice sometimes wavered, but even in his later years Connick was spry and enthusiastic on stage, dancing and waving to the crowd.
—San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Jan. 2024
The spry legs that carried him to the Pro Bowl were no more, although the Bears’ head coach, Mike Ditka, did not leave him stationary in the pocket.
—Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 14 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for spry
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.
Joe Cermele, Outdoor Life, 26 Mar. 2025
Though Stafford is still spry enough to elude pressure, interior pressure is especially hard on older quarterbacks.
—Ted Nguyen, The Athletic, 17 Jan. 2025
His voice sometimes wavered, but even in his later years Connick was spry and enthusiastic on stage, dancing and waving to the crowd.
—San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Jan. 2024
The spry legs that carried him to the Pro Bowl were no more, although the Bears’ head coach, Mike Ditka, did not leave him stationary in the pocket.
—Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 14 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for spry
Cite this Entry
“Spry.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spry. Accessed 6 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
spry
adjective
sprier or spryer
ˈsprī(-ə)r
; spriest or spryest
ˈsprī-əst
; spriest or spryest
ˈsprī-əst
spryly
adverb
spryness
noun
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share