nigh

American  

[nahy] / naɪ /

adverb

1. near in space, time, or relation.

   The time draws nigh.

2. nearly; almost; (often followed by on oronto ).

   nigh onto twenty years.

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adjective

nigher, nighest

1. near; approaching.

   Evening is nigh.

2. short or direct.

   to take the nighest route.

3. (of an animal or vehicle) being on the left side.

   to be astride the nigh horse.

4. Archaic. parsimonious; stingy.

preposition

1. near.

verb (used with or without object)

1. Archaic. to approach.

nigh British  

/ naɪ /

adjective

1. an archaic, poetic, or dialect word for near

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Other Word Forms

• unnigh
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of nigh

before 900; Middle English nigh ( e ), neye, Old English nēah, nēh, cognate with Dutch na, German nahe, Old Norse nā-, Gothic nehw, nehwa; cf. near, next

Explanation

Nigh is an old-fashioned word that can be used as an adjective or adverb to mean near or nearly. Something that is nigh impossible — like knitting a sweater in one night — will be very difficult to accomplish. As an adjective, nigh is an older form of the word "near," both of which are rooted in the Old English word neah. People like to use the word nigh when they talk about the apocalypse: "Repent! The end is nigh." It's most common to use nigh today when you're trying to sound poetic or referencing the archaic or biblical uses of the word.

Example Sentences

Or the end of the Anthropocene might be nigher than you think.

From New York Times • Apr. 25, 2022

“That’s nigher where it is,” said Joe; “she ain’t living.”

From "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens

Heed not the starveling crew, who hang Upon the blue Ohio, A craven heart each traitor bears, And dare not venture nigher.

From Songs and Ballads of the Southern People 1861-1865 by Anonymous

That there woman's got the devil in her bigger'n a sheep, and she come nigher makin' putty o' your Uncle Ephraim than I ever dreamed of before.

From Si Klegg, Book 3 (of 6) Si And Shorty Meet Mr. Rosenbaum, The Spy, Who Relates His Adventures by McElroy, John

"There's none nigher than Oxford," said Mrs Nutt.

From Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 56, Number 350, December 1844 by Various