spry

adjective

ˈsprī 

sprier or spryer ˈsprī(-ə)r  ; 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

Matthew is getting up in years, you know—he's sixty—and he isn't so spry as he once was.

—Charles Keller

spryly adverb

… hopping spryly onto a treadmill.

—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

spryness noun

… he still has a boyish spryness although he's in his late forties.

—Adam Mars-Jones

Synonyms of spry

• graceful
• agile

Examples of spry in a Sentence

an older woman who's still surprisingly spry

Recent Examples on the Web

The Suns don’t have an answer for a spry Porzingis. —Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 16 Apr. 2026

The typical general-election voter is a spry 52, but in primary elections, which decide the majority of political contests, that number rises to 59. —Idrees Kahloon, The Atlantic, 13 Apr. 2026

Devers certainly looked spry while running top speed down the first-base line on Tuesday to beat out an infield dribbler. —Shayna Rubin, San Francisco Chronicle, 2 Apr. 2026

Bored with his tedious job, flattened by a wife (Phoebe Cates) who has cavalierly deserted him, the spry little guy is feeling the punches. —Duane Byrge, HollywoodReporter, 1 Apr. 2026

Word History

Etymology

origin unknown

First Known Use

1746, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for spry

• ai
• aye
• bae
• bi
• buy
• by
• bye
• chai
• chi
• cry
• die
• dry

Kids Definition

spry

adjective

ˈsprī 

sprier or spryer ˈsprī(-ə)r  ; spriest or spryest ˈsprī-əst 

: light and easy in motion : nimble, sprightly

a spry 75-year-old

spryly adverb

spryness noun