deft
Americanadjective
-
defter,
comparative
-
deftest
superlative
adjective
Synonym Usage
See dexterous.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of deft
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English; variant of daft
Explanation
Deft means "showing cleverness and skill in handling things." What you want to see in football or basketball is some deft handling of the ball. Some people are physically deft, like accomplished athletes and ballet dancers. Their movements are fast, graceful, and deliberate. Others might be mentally or intellectually deft. You could describe a beautifully written essay as deft, or talk about a politician's deft work on an anti-bullying bill. The source of deft is the Old English gedæfte, "mild or gentle," which became deft in Middle English along with its meaning of "apt, skillful, or adept."
Vocabulary lists containing deft
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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.
See Examples For:
Whether he is pulling a pint, tossing a builder's helmet in the air or running with Olympic medallist Mo Farah, the UK's new prime minister Andy Burnham has embraced social media with a deft touch.
From Barron's ● Aug. 16, 2026
He is also a deft social satirist, no more so than when skewering his characters’ politically correct pretensions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
Bergs outplayed Fery with a mix of vicious forehand winners and deft drop shots to claim the opening set.
From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026
As I wrote in Salon a couple of years ago, Madison knew what he was doing, and he was deft in his use of English.
From Salon ● Jul. 1, 2026
Evidently it surprised her as much as it did me, for she yawned and with a series of rapid, deft movements stood up into the room.
From " The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Andrew Bayliss, the author of “Sparta: The Rise and Fall of an Ancient Superpower,” is a defter writer than Xenophon.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 25, 2026
But that may explain why it ultimately feels like the defter, more surefooted film, and one whose subtle depths and lingering emotions belie the diminished platform to which it’s essentially been relegated.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 8, 2022
Whatever one may wonder about Özil’s motivations, he has shown a defter touch on social media than most of his teammates have managed on the pitch since the season began.
From The Guardian ● Dec. 30, 2020
The balance of mystery and resolution felt defter here than it has in a few episodes, but there were still messes aplenty.
From New York Times ● Dec. 3, 2015
I never in my life saw a handier man at his tools or a defter at devices of all kinds.
From Marjorie by Justin H. (Justin Huntly) McCarthy
HBO’s “True Detective: Night Country” is the deftest revival of a dead franchise I’ve seen in a long time, and “Dune: Prophecy” is an elegant extension of a cinematic phenomenon.
From Salon ● Dec. 27, 2024
Each serving of pad Thai hor khai, made by the deftest street vendors, is wrapped in a silk-thin omelet.
From New York Times ● Mar. 17, 2022
Victoria Jones is a very amiable student from Lancashire who begins talking to me a mile a minute in a way that would defeat the deftest shorthand practitioner.
From The Guardian ● Sep. 5, 2017
Bourgue continued to produce an array of winners, including the deftest of drop shots, to delight the home crowd in Philippe Chatrier court.
From BBC ● May 25, 2016
What it is; or, rather, who she is, her fingers being among the deftest in laying the ground-threads of Aglaia's cestus.
From The Queen of the Air Being a Study of the Greek Myths of Cloud and Storm by John Ruskin
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.
