wiry
/ˈwaɪ(ə)ɹi/adjective
wiry is spelled W-I-R-Y: 4 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 52,337th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, wiry means “Resembling wire” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in wiry?
| Letters | 4: W-I-R-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 3 million words; the 52,337th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is wiry?
Wiry appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 52,337th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce wiry?
- /ˈwaɪ(ə)ɹi/
Wiry has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-wiry.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of wiry
- wirier comparative
- wiriest superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does wiry mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Resembling wire.
My hair was very wiry in my teens.
- 2
Thin, muscular and flexible.
Don't fight him. He may be small, but he's wiry.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Wiry in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense thin, muscular and flexible:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does wiry come from?
From wire + -y.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).