husky

comparative huskier · superlative huskiest

1. Of a voice, hoarse and rough-sounding; throaty.

   Her voice was boy-husky, sounding as though strained through some rough material ...

   1948, Truman Capote, Other Voices, Other Rooms, Part One, 1

   1 more example

   Mr. Hyde was pale and dwarfish, he gave an impression of deformity without any nameable malformation, he had a displeasing smile, he had borne himself to the lawyer with a sort of murderous mixture of timidity and boldness, and he spoke with a husky, whispering and somewhat broken voice; all these were points against him, but not all of these together could explain the hitherto unknown disgust, loathing and fear with which Mr. Utterson regarded him.

   1886 January 5, Robert Louis Stevenson, “Search for Mr. Hyde”, in Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., →OCLC, page 25

2. USeuphemisticBurly, stout; sometimes as a modifier for boys' clothing sizes that fit a large waist or chest.

   You look like a good, husky man to pitch in the barnyard […]

   1910, Hamlin Garland, Other Main-Travelled Roads

   1 more example

   Word got around quickly that this plane, which has been flying since January, is bigger and huskier than our proposed C-5A […]

   1965, Popular Mechanics, September issue, page 22

3. Abounding with husks; consisting of husks.

   Some swains have sown before: but most have found A husky harvest from the grudging ground.

   1697, Virgil, “The First Book of the Georgics”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC

4. archaicslangBelligerent; hostile and uncooperative.

   1 more example

   “Well, here it is,” said Silver. “We want that treasure, and we’ll have it — that’s our point! You would just as soon save your lives, I reckon; and that’s yours. You have a chart, haven’t you?” “That’s as may be,” replied the captain. “Oh, well, you have, I know that,” returned Long John. “You needn’t be so husky with a man; there ain’t a particle of service in that, and you may lay to it. What I mean is, we want your chart. Now, I never meant you no harm, myself.”

   1881–1882, Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island, London; Paris: Cassell & Company, published 14 November 1883, →OCLC

plural huskies · alternative huskie

1. Any of several breeds of dogs used as sled dogs.

   The White House posted a cartoon to X on Wednesday of two Greenlandic mush teams with three huskies each, pointing towards the choice of the white pillars and the South Lawn or a tempestuous scene by the Great Wall of China and Red Square in Russia.

   2026 January 14, Ben Makuch, “White House post nods to racist, far-right subculture, extremism expert says”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 15 Jan 2026

   Synonyms: polar dog

plural Huskies

1. datedAn Eskimo person.
2. alternativeAlternative form of husky

1. datedAny of the languages of the Eskimo peoples.

   For quotations using this term, see Citations:Husky.