ambidextrous
[ am-bi-dek-struh s ]
/ ˌæm bɪˈdɛk strəs /
adjective
able to use both hands equally well: an ambidextrous surgeon.
unusually skillful; facile: an ambidextrous painter, familiar with all media.
double-dealing; deceitful.
Slang. bisexual.
RELATED WORDS
Nearby words
- ambi-,
- ambiance,
- ambidentate,
- ambidexter,
- ambidexterity,
- ambien,
- ambience,
- ambient,
- ambient air standard,
- ambient music
Origin of ambidextrous
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for ambidextrous
ambidextrous
/ (ˌæmbɪˈdɛkstrəs) /
adjective
equally expert with each hand
informal highly skilled or adept
underhanded; deceitful
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
ambidextrous
1640s, with -ous, from ambidexter (adj.) "double-dealing" (1610s), from French ambidextre or directly from Latin ambidexter, literally "right-handed on both sides," from ambi- "both" (see ambi-) + dexter "right-handed" (see dexterity). Its opposite, ambilevous "left-handed on both sides, clumsy" (1640s) is rare. Ambidexter as a noun, "one who takes bribes from both sides," is attested from 1530s and is the earliest form of the word in English; its sense of "one who uses both hands equally well" appears by 1590s.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
ambidextrous
[ ăm′bĭ-dĕk′strəs ]
adj.
Able to use both hands with equal facility.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.