big-boned

adjective

Definition of big-bonednext
as in lanky

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Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of big-boned Two large and in charge ladies were involved in a street fight in West Hollywood early Saturday morning that left one of the big-boned women bleeding from her face. — Sean Joseph Outkick, FOXNews.com, 1 June 2026 Speaking of big dude, the chair is rated for the big-boned as well. — New Atlas, 5 Dec. 2025 Jean-Yves Thibaudet was the right guest in every way for the big-boned performance at the Huntington. — Los Angeles Times, 12 July 2025 The last time Jez Butterworth and Sam Mendes rode into Broadway on the back of a big-boned new play, smothered in five-star reviews and Olivier awards, there were geese, and babies, and bunnies. — Sara Holdren, Vulture, 29 Sep. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for big-boned
  1. lanky
  2. lean
  3. rangy
  4. skinny
  5. weedy
  6. wiry
  7. spindly
  8. reedy
Adjective
  • Douglas, who is speedy, lanky and athletic at 6 foot 4, 205 pounds, can be tough to defend.
    — David Furones, Sun Sentinel, 12 Aug. 2026
  • At one point something about the way the sculpture is perched atop Roth’s lanky frame is deemed extraterrestrial.
    — Marisa Meltzer, Vanity Fair, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of lanky
Adjective
  • My discipline is to fight that instinct and lean toward being there, even when the case for staying put looks reasonable.
    — John Speranza, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026
  • So what Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has done is lean unusually hard on the cheaper rate today to finance a roughly $2 trillion annual deficit.
    — Eva Roytburg, Fortune, 8 Aug. 2026
Definition of lean
Adjective
  • Some appear impulsive, or impressively rangy, leaving earlier and traveling more, whereas others fail to leave altogether.
    — Vann R. Newkirk II, The Atlantic, 28 July 2026
  • In most sub packages, the Steelers will tap into Payton Wilson’s rangy coverage abilities by lining him up next to Queen.
    — Mike DeFabo, New York Times, 21 July 2026
Definition of rangy
Adjective
  • Sorry millennials, skinny jeans have taken a back seat lately for baggier styles, and Emily Ratajkowski isn’t the only celeb on board.
    — Ali Faccenda, InStyle, 9 Aug. 2026
  • This peak Millennial era was a mix of hipster and bohemian aesthetic, with skinny jeans, flannel shirts, flowy lace dresses, oversized felt hats, and combat boots or TOMS Shoes (Hey, remember those?
    — Jessie Quinn, StyleCaster, 8 Aug. 2026
Definition of skinny
Adjective
  • Jeon-Gi lives with his Korean family in Building A, scrapping with kids from other immigrant families in a weedy playground.
    — Hamilton Cain, Time, 7 July 2026
  • Your neighbors probably won't be bothered by your weedy flower beds or rusty lawn furniture.
    — Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 30 June 2026
Definition of weedy
Adjective
  • The oak processionary caterpillar, as it is known in English, is a squiggle of dark skin covered in wiry white hairs that look like the whiskers on a witch’s warts.
    — Ben Crair, New Yorker, 31 July 2026
  • The Leeds quartet built a reputation on sardonic observations about modern life, packaging political unease inside wiry post-punk.
    — Sophie Miller, Rolling Stone, 19 July 2026
Definition of wiry
Adjective
  • In this splendid and very hot outfit, completed with spindly heeled sandals, Allie reluctantly toddles off into the night to join her glimmering, mini-skirted sisters.
    — Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 5 Aug. 2026
  • But, a year later, a bright-red humanoid—swinging a pair of spindly arms for balance—beat all twelve thousand human competitors and broke the world record.
    — Evan Osnos, New Yorker, 3 Aug. 2026
Definition of spindly
Adjective
  • The prosecutor, Johann Frischman, laid out, in a reedy voice, the criminal complaint.
    — William Finnegan, New Yorker, 29 June 2026
  • Among those acolytes is Lucien (Jérémy Gillet), a reedy, repressed young virgin who yearns to be part of the gay community but hasn’t the courage to come out to his domineering mother Christine (Elisabeth Wiener), who also just happens to be the country’s very right-wing health minister.
    — Guy Lodge, Variety, 23 May 2026
Definition of reedy

Browse Nearby Words

bigamy
big-boned
big box
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Cite this Entry

“Big-boned.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/big-boned. Accessed 13 Aug. 2026.

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