gimlet

American  

[gim-lit] / ˈgɪm lɪt /

noun

1. a small tool for boring holes, consisting of a shaft with a pointed screw at one end and a handle perpendicular to the shaft at the other.

2. a cocktail made with gin or vodka, sweetened lime juice, and sometimes soda water.

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verb (used with object)

1. to pierce with or as if with a gimlet.

2. Nautical. Also gimblet to rotate (a suspended anchor) to a desired position.

adjective

1. able to penetrate or bore through.

gimlet British  

/ ˈɡɪmlɪt /

noun

1. a small hand tool consisting of a pointed spiral tip attached at right angles to a handle, used for boring small holes in wood

2. a cocktail consisting of half gin or vodka and half lime juice

3. a eucalyptus of W Australia having a twisted bole

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verb

1. (tr) to make holes in (wood) using a gimlet

adjective

1. penetrating; piercing (esp in the phrase gimlet-eyed )

Other Word Forms

• gimlety adjective

Etymology

Origin of gimlet

1375–1425; late Middle English < Old French guimbelet < Germanic; compare Middle Dutch wimmel wimble

Example Sentences

But the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland keeps a gimlet eye on inflation data, and it has some estimates.

From MarketWatch

His Joel had a gimlet eye and wore his heart on his sleeve; he was sometimes goofy but always in on the joke.

From Los Angeles Times

No detail is too small for Caro’s gimlet eye, which is currently trained on finishing Volume 5.

From Los Angeles Times

With a gimlet eye and a surprisingly girlish laugh, Vera is cantankerous, impatient, intensely private, unapologetically disheveled and utterly glorious.

From Los Angeles Times

Watching it all with a gimlet eye, Mary — his old friend who’s still helplessly in love with him — takes Frank to task for sacrificing his theatrical partnership with Charley for hollow Hollywood success.

From Los Angeles Times