Adjacent Words

Nimble definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

NIM'BLE, a. Light and quick in motion; moving with ease and celerity; lively; swift. It is applied chiefly to motions of the feet and hands, sometimes to other things; as a nimble boy; the nimble-footed deer.
Through the mid seas the nimble pinnace sails.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: moving quickly and lightly; "sleek and agile as a gymnast"; "as nimble as a deer"; "nimble fingers"; "quick of foot"; "the old dog was so spry it was halfway up the stairs before we could stop it" [syn: agile, nimble, quick, spry]
2: mentally quick; "an agile mind"; "nimble wits" [syn: agile, nimble]

Merriam Webster's

adjective (nimbler; nimblest) Etymology: Middle English nimel, from Old English numol holding much, from niman to take; akin to Old High German neman to take, Greek nemein to distribute, manage, nomos pasture, nomos usage, custom, law Date: 14th century 1. quick and light in motion ; agile <nimble fingers> 2. a. marked by quick, alert, clever conception, comprehension, or resourcefulness <a nimble mind> b. responsive, sensitive <a nimble listener> • nimbleness noun • nimbly adverb

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. (nimbler, nimblest) 1 quick and light in movement or action; agile. 2 (of the mind) quick to comprehend; clever, versatile. Derivatives: nimbleness n. nimbly adv. Etymology: OE næmel quick to seize f. niman take f. Gmc, with -b- as in THIMBLE

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Nimble Nim"ble, a. [Compar. Nimbler; superl. Nimblest.] [OE. nimel, prob. orig., quick at seizing, fr. nimen to take, AS. niman; akin to D. nemen, G. nehmen, OHG. neman, Icel. nema, Goth. nima, and prob. to Gr. ? to distribute. [root] 7. Cf. Nomand, Numb.] Light and quick in motion; moving with ease and celerity; lively; swift. Through the mid seas the nimble pinnace sails. --Pope. Note: Nimble is sometimes used in the formation of self-explaining compounds; as, nimble-footed, nimble-pinioned, nimble-winged, etc. Nimble Will (Bot.), a slender, branching, American grass (Muhlenbergia diffusa), of some repute for grazing purposes in the Mississippi valley. Syn: Agile; quick; active; brisk; lively; prompt.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(nimbler, nimblest) 1. Someone who is nimble is able to move their fingers, hands, or legs quickly and easily. Everything had been stitched by Molly's nimble fingers... Val, who was light and nimble on her feet, learnt to dance the tango. ADJ • nimbly Sabrina jumped nimbly out of the van... ADV: ADV with v 2. If you say that someone has a nimble mind, you mean they are clever and can think very quickly. A nimble mind backed by a degree in economics gave him a firm grasp of financial matters... ADJ

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a. Agile, lively, brisk, active, smart, quick, spry, ready, alert, sprightly, swift, light, expeditious, speedy, prompt, expert.

Moby Thesaurus

active, acute, adroit, agile, alacritous, alert, alive, apt, attentive, awake, brainy, breakneck, bright, brilliant, brisk, catty, clever, coruscating, dashing, deft, dexterous, dispatchful, double-quick, eagle-winged, energetic, expeditious, express, fast, featly, fleet, flying, galloping, gifted, graceful, hair-trigger, handy, hasty, headlong, hustling, intelligent, keen, keen-witted, light, light of heel, light-footed, lightsome, limber, lithe, lively, mercurial, neat-fingered, neat-handed, nimble-footed, nimble-witted, no dumbbell, not born yesterday, on the, on the alert, on the ball, on the job, peart, precipitate, prompt, qui vive, quick, quick as lightning, quick as thought, quick-thinking, quick-witted, rapid, ready, reckless, running, scintillating, sharp, sharp-witted, sleepless, smart, snappy, spanking, sparkling, speedy, sprightly, spry, steel-trap, sure-footed, swift, talented, unblinking, unnodding, unsleeping, unwinking, vigilant, wakeful, watchful, wide-awake, winged, zippy