nifty
Americanadjective
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attractively stylish or smart.
a nifty new dress for Easter.
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very good; fine; excellent.
a nifty idea.
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substantial; sizable.
We sold the car for a nifty profit.
noun
adjective
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pleasing, apt, or stylish
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quick, agile
he's nifty on his feet
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of nifty
An Americanism dating back to 1860–65; of obscure origin
Explanation
Something that's nifty is really great. You might tell your mom that the Hawaiian themed decorations for your dad's surprise party look nifty. Nifty is informal and a little old fashioned, but it's a perfect way to compliment a cute outfit or express your excitement about your little sister's new roller skates. If a friend comments on your nifty tap dance routine, she thinks it's swell. Nifty has been around as a colloquial term for "stylish or smart" since the 1860s, possibly from theater slang.
Vocabulary lists containing nifty
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.
Stranded or struggling robots became the new Bird scooters — nifty ideas that proved more problematic in practice.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 14, 2026
Through methods like search engine optimization and other nifty page-ranking subterfuge, this nonverified content climbs to the top of search results and people’s consciousness.
From Slate • Mar. 28, 2026
She got a nifty long pass from her teammate Taylor Heise and saw space.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 20, 2026
China's insatiable appetite for durians has shaped up to be a nifty diplomatic tool.
From BBC • Jan. 10, 2026
Once Mom started teaching, I thought maybe we’d be able to buy new clothes, eat cafeteria lunches, and even spring for nifty extras like the class pictures the school took every year.
From "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls
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.
