Strapping describes someone who is tall, strong, and healthy-looking, with a powerful, sturdy build. When you call someone strapping, you're noticing their physical strength and vigor. A strapping young man might be a high school athlete with broad shoulders and visible muscles, or a farm worker whose daily labor has built impressive strength. The word works for women too: a strapping soccer player might tower over her teammates with athletic power.

The word carries an old-fashioned, almost admiring tone. It suggests strength combined with good health and vitality. You might read in a novel about strapping soldiers or strapping pioneers, people whose physical presence commands attention.

When you see someone described as strapping, picture someone who looks capable of hard physical work, someone whose strength is obvious at a glance. It's the kind of word that might describe a blacksmith, a lumberjack, or a champion rower, people whose bodies show the results of demanding activity and robust health.