Rangy describes someone or something with long limbs and a lean, athletic build. A rangy basketball player might be tall and thin with arms that seem to reach everywhere on the court. A rangy dog, like a greyhound or whippet, has long legs built for running fast across open ground.

The word suggests height and thinness combined with a loose, easy stride that covers a lot of ground quickly. Someone rangy moves with that distinctive gait (picture a long-legged soccer player who seems to glide across the field, or a colt learning to run in a pasture). There's often something graceful about ranginess, even if it looks a bit awkward at first.

Rangy can also describe wide, open spaces good for roaming, like rangy grasslands where cattle graze. This meaning connects to the idea of range: having room to move and stretch out.