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.

---

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

---

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

See Examples For:

nigh nigher nighest

But when the bulls start reporting that massive stock gambling by the retail public, using levered ETFs, are a reason to be bullish, you have to start wondering if the end is nigh.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 27, 2026

You know the end of summer is nigh when Vail Resorts announces opening dates for its ski resorts.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026

If you live in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, Seattle or any city with a high population of Burning Man devotees, it’s nigh impossible for “The Man Will Burn” to be a prejudice-free viewing experience.

From Salon ● Jul. 24, 2026

Or, the end of this Supreme Court term is nigh, at least.

From Slate ● Jun. 29, 2026

Left of the high seat stood a maester nigh as fat as the lord he served, a rosy-cheeked man with thick lips and a head of golden curls.

From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin

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

But as the craft now nigher drew, The signal note his swarthy crew.

From Tales of the Wonder Club, Volume II by Alexander Huth

The sea was smooth, the weather clear; When they approached nigher, 75 King Ida's castle they well knew, And the banks of Bambroughshire.

From English and Scottish Ballads, Volume I (of 8) by Various

At last one overstretched chord of her agony slacked; she thought Something above relented; she felt as if Something far round drew nigher; she heard as if Silence spoke.

From Shirley by Charlotte Brontë

King Harald’s son Magnus steered the ship which lay lowest in the river-mouth and nighest out to the lake.

From The Sagas of Olaf Tryggvason and of Harald The Tyrant (Harald Haardraade) by Ethel Harriet Hearn

If he could not accomplish the best, he contented himself with the nighest approach to it.

From Homes of American Statesmen With Anecdotical, Personal, and Descriptive Sketches by Various

That is a monstrous big building with a great round dome on top, two broad flights of steps lead up into it, we clumb the nighest one and went inside.

From Samantha at the St. Louis Exposition by Marietta Holley

When we reckoned this up Drusilla come the nighest to disapprovin' of the Deacon's management that I ever knew her to.

From Samantha at the World's Fair by Baron C. de Grimm

It is the nighest, and Miss Clara cares little for rough roads.

From St. Ronan's Well by Sir Walter Scott

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---