Pithy means expressing something meaningful in just a few well-chosen words. A pithy comment gets straight to the point without wasting time on unnecessary details. Benjamin Franklin was famous for pithy sayings like “A penny saved is a penny earned,” which captures an important idea about money in just seven words.

When writing is pithy, it's both brief and powerful. A teacher might give pithy feedback on your essay: “Show, don't tell” says a lot in three words. A pithy remark cuts through confusion and makes things clear.

Pithy is different from just being short. “OK” is short, but it's not pithy because it doesn't contain much meaning. “Actions speak louder than words” is pithy because it packs real wisdom into a memorable phrase. When you need to explain something important quickly, like writing a motto for your class project or summarizing a book in one sentence, you're aiming for something pithy.