burly

adjective

bur·​ly ˈbər-lē How to pronounce burly (audio)
burlier; burliest
Synonyms of burly
: strongly and heavily built : husky
a burly man
burlily
ˈbər-lə-lē How to pronounce burly (audio)
adverb
burliness
ˈbər-lē-nəs How to pronounce burly (audio)
noun

Synonyms of burly

Relevance
See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of burly in a Sentence

a burly delivery man brought the furniture
Recent Examples on the Web
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.
Emmett Doyle is a burly and bearded union carpenter and musician in Minneapolis who writes and performs folk music about the struggles of the working class. — Emily Witt, New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2026 This burly and battle-tested Chaminade-Madonna offensive line is led by three-star 6-foot-5 guard Devon Munnings, who is committed to Liberty. — Ethan Hanson, Daily News, 27 Aug. 2026 Taylor Lally is a blue-eyed, burly, bespectacled man, with a beard about halfway to the the full Duck Dynasty look. — Andrew Zucker, HollywoodReporter, 17 Aug. 2026 Fauci asked as a burly officer marched the man through the main door of the building and toward a police van, his hands zip-tied behind him. — Michael Collins, USA Today, 7 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for burly

Word History

Etymology

Middle English

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of burly was in the 13th century

Phrases Containing burly

Rhymes for burly

See All Rhymes for burly

Browse Nearby Words

Burlington
burly
Burma mahogany
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Burly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/burly. Accessed 4 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

burly

adjective
bur·​ly ˈbər-lē How to pronounce burly (audio)
burlier; burliest
: strongly and heavily built
a burly man
burliness noun
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of apiary

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

A List of Most Commonly Confused Words

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 4
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
anagrams on a chalk board
Word Builder Quiz Vol. 2 Pick the letter that when added to a word will ma...
See All