spry

/spɹaɪ/

//spɹaɪ// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"spry" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“spry” is uncommon English (frequency #52,016 among 6,566 “S” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#52,016
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Having great power of leaping or running; nimble; active.

Corpus desk

Index EN-spry · spry · English

spry · rank #52,016 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #52,016
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH spurring

Nearest frequency peer: spurring (+1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “spry”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “spry” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for spry
PropertyValue
Headwordspry
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/spɹaɪ/
Letters4
Frequency rank#52,016
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “spry” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).spryfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “spurring” (#52,017), “speedboat” (#52,012), “Stanislaus” (#52,020). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “spry” is #52,016. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

spry is uncommon English at frequency #52,016 among 6,566 “S” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /spɹaɪ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for spry in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: From British dialectal sprey, from Old Norse sprækr (“nimble, lively”) from Proto-Germanic *sprēkiz (“lively”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)preg- (“to strew, jerk, sprinkle, scatter”). Cognate with Icelandic sprækur (“lively, spry”), Norwegian sprek (“live… The correct English form is spry, spelled S-P-R-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Having great power of leaping or running; nimble; active.
  2. 2
    Vigorous; lively; cheerful; sprightly.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how spry appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. What follows is a bunch of nonstop goofery involving chase sequences, dream sequences, fast-changing costumes and an improbable beard, a little musical help from Flight Of The Conchords, and ultimately a very physical confrontation with a surprisingly spry Victoria.
  2. "I'm not sure about whether I shall go. I am the most incurably lazy devil that ever stood in shoe leather—that is, when the fit is on me, for I can be spry enough at times."

Etymology

From British dialectal sprey, from Old Norse sprækr (“nimble, lively”) from Proto-Germanic *sprēkiz (“lively”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)preg- (“to strew, jerk, sprinkle, scatter”). Cognate with Icelandic sprækur (“lively, spry”), Norwegian sprek (“lively, healthy”), dialectal Swedish sprygg (“brisk, very active, skittish”). More at spark. Related to sprack, sprig, sprug, freckle.

This word in other languages

actif(Français)agil(Deutsch)ágil(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "spry"?
"spry" is spelled S-P-R-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /spɹaɪ/.
What does "spry" mean?
As an adjective, "spry" means: Having great power of leaping or running; nimble; active.
How do you pronounce "spry"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "spry" is /spɹaɪ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "spry"?
From British dialectal sprey, from Old Norse sprækr (“nimble, lively”) from Proto-Germanic *sprēkiz (“lively”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)preg- (“to strew, jerk, sprinkle, scatter”). Cognate with Icelandic sprækur (“lively, spry”), Norwegian sp... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "spry", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

smit#52,004talc#52,034tish#52,049Tula#52,061

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list