nim

[ nim ]

/ nɪm /

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Definition of nim

verb (used with or without object), nimmed, nim·ming.Archaic.

to steal or pilfer.

QUIZ

SHALL WE PLAY A "SHALL" VS. "SHOULD" CHALLENGE?

Should you take this quiz on “shall” versus “should”? It should prove to be a quick challenge!

Question 1 of 6

Which form is used to state an obligation or duty someone has?

shall

should

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Origin of nim

before 900; Middle English nimen,Old English niman, cognate with German nehmen,Old Norse nema,Gothic niman to take; cf. numb

Words nearby nim

Nilotic crocodile, nilpotent, nil return, nil sine numine, Nilsson, nim, nimble, nimblewit, nimbly, nimbo-, nimbostratus

Other definitions for nim (2 of 2)

nim²

[ nim ]

/ nɪm /

noun

a game in which two players alternate in drawing counters, pennies, or the like, from a set of 12 arranged in three rows of 3, 4, and 5 counters, respectively, the object being to draw the last counter, or, sometimes, to avoid drawing it.

Origin of nim

First recorded in 1900–05; special use of nim¹

How to use nim in a sentence

When she got him, she just decided she was going to have fun with Nim.
‘Project Nim’: The Stunning New Documentary about Chimpanzees|Marlow Stern|July 9, 2011|DAILY BEAST
There, Nim lived out the rest of his days, dying in 2000 at age 26 from a heart attack.
‘Project Nim’: The Stunning New Documentary about Chimpanzees|Marlow Stern|July 9, 2011|DAILY BEAST
There, Nim met Bob Ingersoll, a high-spirited University of Oklahoma student who worked at the facility.
‘Project Nim’: The Stunning New Documentary about Chimpanzees|Marlow Stern|July 9, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Project Nim, in theaters Friday, chronicles a bizarre 1970s project that sought to teach chimpanzees language.
‘Project Nim’: The Stunning New Documentary about Chimpanzees|Marlow Stern|July 9, 2011|DAILY BEAST

A campaign was then spearheaded by Ingersoll to save Nim, and after dozens of letters, his voice was heard.
‘Project Nim’: The Stunning New Documentary about Chimpanzees|Marlow Stern|July 9, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Take of fresh nim leaves a sufficiency; bruise and moisten with tepid water.
Cooley's Cyclopdia of Practical Receipts and Collateral Information in the Arts, Manufactures, Professions, and Trades..., Sixth Edition, Volume I|Arnold Cooley
Thus, the verb to carry is nim bemn, I carry; nim bemn-ego, I am carried.
Summary Narrative of an Exploratory Expedition to the Sources of the Mississippi River, in 1820|Henry Rowe Schoolcraft
Thus neen, is sometimes rendered ne, or nin, and sometimes nim.
Summary Narrative of an Exploratory Expedition to the Sources of the Mississippi River, in 1820|Henry Rowe Schoolcraft
Nim, call that boy to mind the oxen while you come in, or I've a notion they'll be makin' free with Miss's flowers here.'
Cedar Creek|Elizabeth Hely Walshe
The system is highly modular and is built into NIM bins with modified back connectors.
On-Line Data-Acquisition Systems in Nuclear Physics, 1969|H. W. Fulbright et al.

British Dictionary definitions for nim

nim

/ (nɪm) /

noun

a game in which two players alternately remove one or more small items, such as matchsticks, from one of several rows or piles, the object being to take (or avoid taking) the last item remaining on the table

Word Origin for nim

C20: perhaps from archaic nim to take, from Old English niman

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012