agile
Americanadjective
-
quick and well-coordinated in movement; lithe.
an agile leap.
- Antonyms:
- awkward
-
an agile person.
-
marked by an ability to think quickly; mentally acute or aware.
She's 95 and still very agile.
-
noting or relating to a philosophy of product development and production intended to create and distribute batches of working products in a short period of time with subsequent batches planned in a cyclical schedule of improvement, production, and distribution: agile manufacturing;
agile software programming;
agile manufacturing;
agile teams.
noun
adjective
-
quick in movement; nimble
-
mentally quick or acute
Other Word Forms
- agilely adverb
- agileness noun
- agility noun
- unagile adjective
- unagilely adverb
Etymology
Origin of agile
First recorded in 1570–80; earlier agill, from Middle French agile “nimble” and Latin agilis “easily moved, moving easily,” equivalent to ag- (base of agere “to do, drive”) + -ilis -ile
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.
Their long, narrow snouts and rows of thin, pointed teeth allowed them to catch agile prey such as fish and turtles.
From Science Daily
Management “came back stronger and fearless, and they’ve been much more agile” since the crisis.
From MarketWatch
“Older adults are surprisingly agile in switching between technology services,” the authors write—and more than open to using them to engage with family and friends of different generations.
It said it will remain agile to respond to changes in global trade and keep a tight rein on costs moving forward.
Its long neck and agile body allowed it to strike quickly at prey.
From Science Daily
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.
