strapping
/'stræpiɳ/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Adjective:
- Muscular and heavily built; robust and strong in appearance: Used to describe a person, typically a young man, who is tall, broad-shouldered, and physically powerful.
Usage
- The adjective strapping is used attributively (before a noun) or predicatively (after a linking verb like 'be' or 'look'). It has a positive connotation of health and strength.
- It is most commonly applied to young men or boys who are notably large and strong for their age.
Examples
Advanced Usage
- "strapping" as a modifier: Often used to emphasize the impressive physicality of youth.
- The team's success was due in part to their strapping forward, who dominated the game.
Variants and Related Words
- Strap (verb): To fasten or secure with a strap. (Note: This is the base verb from which the adjective 'strapping' is derived, but it has a completely different meaning.)
- Strapping (noun, rare): The material used for straps; the act of fastening with a strap. (This usage is uncommon compared to the adjective.)
Synonyms
- Burly: Large and strong; heavily built.
- Husky: Big and strong; (of a voice) deep and hoarse.
- Beefy: Muscular and solid.
- Brawny: Physically strong; muscular.
- Robust: Strong and healthy; vigorous.
Antonyms
- Scrawny: Unattractively thin and bony.
- Skinny: Very thin.
- Frail: Weak and delicate.
- Slender: Gracefully thin.
Notes
- The term strapping is almost exclusively used to describe people, not objects.
- While the reference mentions 'buirdly' as a Scottish synonym, strapping itself is standard in all varieties of English.
- The adjective form discussed here is unrelated to the nominal meaning of "strapping" as a material or the act of tying with a strap.
Adjective
- muscular and heavily built
- a beefy wrestler
- had a tall burly frame
- clothing sizes for husky boys
- a strapping boy of eighteen
- `buirdly' is a Scottish term