nimble
Americanadjective
adjective
-
agile, quick, and neat in movement
nimble fingers
-
alert; acute
a nimble intellect
Other Word Forms
- nimbleness noun
- nimbly adverb
- unnimble adjective
- unnimbleness noun
Etymology
Origin of nimble
First recorded before 1000; late Middle English nymel, earlier nemel, Old English nǣmel “capable,” equivalent to nǣm- (variant stem of niman “to take”; nim 1 ) + -el -le
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.
Taiwan has responded to the growing pressure by increasing defence spending on smaller and more nimble weaponry to enable its military to wage asymmetric warfare against more powerful Chinese forces.
From Barron's
The hidebound company, overly reliant on mainframe computers, had been out-hustled by nimbler makers of desktop computers and software.
This hint of retreat from the earlier crackdown shows that even Gnassingbé's nimble international networking cannot defuse the underlying political discontent at home.
From BBC
With a voice that is relatively light and raspy and a delivery both nimble and demotic, Mr. Dale matches his energy to the text in a way that makes for effortless listening.
The U.S.—long reliant on expensive fighting kit and extended processes—is trying to catch up, shifting to a starkly new era marked by nimble, relatively cheap and expendable equipment.
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.
