nimbly
Americanadverb
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with quick, light, easy movement.
Our daughter sits on the ground plucking dandelions, her long brown fingers nimbly weaving them into a chain.
-
in a way that shows quick thinking or understanding, as in making appropriate adjustments, devising or carrying out plans, etc..
Local governance is often flexible and community based, enabling municipalities to respond to evolving conditions more nimbly than larger and slower-moving state governments.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of nimbly
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.
Few people do simmering panic as nimbly as Sarah Goldberg.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 9, 2026
Bettan delivers his song, a lovestruck ballad called Michelle, with sincerity and passion, nimbly moving into his falsetto over a mix of electronic beats and Middle Eastern instrumentation.
From BBC ● May 15, 2026
David was a political chameleon who nimbly navigated a volatile epoch while remaining an artist of the highest professionalism.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 29, 2025
In his nearly four-decade career, Soderbergh has proven himself the king of directorial reinvention, nimbly sliding between genre and style without losing touch with his signature aesthetics.
From Salon ● Mar. 14, 2025
“Now she climbs, as nimbly as ever, the ladder of favor in the court of Fortinbras, who has yet to take a bride.”
From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein
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.
