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
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
Explanation
On water skis she was agile and made sharp turns and long arcs cutting through the water, but she was a lot less agile on the snowboard, landing on her face and hands as she clunked down the slopes. People and things can be agile, or quick and graceful. Car commercials talk of "agile handling," and nature-shows feature spry creatures who survive by being agile among more slow-footed and clumsy animals. Human and virtual minds also earn the description agile when they're sharp and grasp ideas or reason with speed and easy logic. Things that are agile often are thought to be light, but even heavy machines like trains and large people like sumo wrestlers can be agile.
Vocabulary lists containing agile
100 SAT Words Beginning with "A"
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
List 2
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Cat Vocabulary: A Feline Lexicon
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
Compared with Arctic dogs, these tropical animals generally remained smaller and more agile, qualities that offered clear advantages in dense forests.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 10, 2026
Mr. Kurosawa directs with a supple and straightforward elegance, the camera agile and the proceedings paced as swiftly as Murashige power-walks his way around the castle.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
To play Aemond, Mitchell looked at MMA and cage fighters to hone in on the character’s agile, brutal fighting style.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
Chief executive Tadeu Marroco said the cuts would make the company "more agile, cost disciplined and technology enabled".
From BBC ● Jun. 29, 2026
Like plumed vestments of the precious bird, That precious bird with the agile neck, We will come to an end.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
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.
