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leathery

American  
[leth-uh-ree] / ˈlɛð ə ri /

adjective

  1. like leather in appearance or texture; tough and flexible.

leathery British  
/ ˈlɛðərɪ /

adjective

  1. having the appearance or texture of leather, esp in toughness

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • leatheriness noun

Etymology

Origin of leathery

First recorded in 1545–55; leather + -y 1

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

One of my favorite passages captures Mr. Haskell’s first encounter, in Australia, with a Moreton Bay fig tree, its thick, leathery foliage crowded by figbirds longing for the tree’s fruits.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026

The sun's rays also dry out skin, making it coarse and leathery.

From BBC • Jul. 19, 2024

Some still have hair, leathery skin and their original clothing.

From Seattle Times • May 27, 2024

I was never put off by his lumpy, leathery body, nor his hooked claws.

From Salon • May 4, 2024

There was a swirl of lunging leathery wings, and a malevolent yowk-yowk-yowk resounding in the snowy courtyard.

From "The Subtle Knife" by Philip Pullman

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.