nymph

American  

[nimf] / nɪmf /

noun

nymphs plural

1. one of a numerous class of lesser deities of mythology, conceived of as beautiful maidens inhabiting the sea, rivers, woods, trees, mountains, meadows, etc., and frequently mentioned as attending a superior deity.

   Synonyms:

   hamadryad, dryad, oread, naiad

2. a beautiful or graceful young woman.

3. a maiden.

4. the young of an insect that undergoes incomplete metamorphosis.

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nymph British  

/ nɪmf, ˈnɪmfɪən /

noun

1. myth a spirit of nature envisaged as a beautiful maiden

2. poetic a beautiful young woman

3. the immature form of some insects, such as the dragonfly and mayfly, and certain arthropods. Nymphs resemble the adult, apart from having underdeveloped reproductive organs and (in the case of insects) wings, and develop into the adult without a pupal stage

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nymph Scientific  

/ nĭmf /

1. The immature form of those insects that do not pass through a pupal stage. Nymphs usually resemble the adults, but are smaller, lack fully developed wings, and are sexually immature.

2. Compare imago larva pupa

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Synonym Usage

See sylph.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nymphal
  adjective
• nymphean
  adjective
• nymphlike
  adjective
• unnymphal
  adjective
• unnymphean
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• nymphs
  plural

Etymology

Origin of nymph

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English nimphe, from Latin nympha, from Greek nýmphē “bride, nymph”

Explanation

If you're excited to have spotted a nymph, you must take an interest in attractive young women or in bugs. It's really none of my business either way. The word nymph comes straight out of Greek mythology, where it described nature spirits in the form of young women usually found in the woods. When you didn't return to the campsite for so long, I thought you'd either been eaten by a bear or run off with a nymph. What do you mean you ran off with a bear? Or were you just out looking for the insect larva kind of nymphs?

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

nymph nymphs

Hidden in plain sight, an ambush bug nymph waits motionless inside a flower in Michigan.

From BBC ● Mar. 25, 2026

Echo is presumably the tragic nymph of mythology who was cursed by Hera to be little more than a voice that could only repeat the last words spoken to her.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 20, 2026

The Pleiades myth describes the seven daughters of the titan Atlas and nymph Pleione.

From Science Daily ● May 21, 2024

The word “Nyad” is a derivation of “naiad,” the water nymph from Greek mythology.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2023

So she told her sister nymph, Doris, who had rather hoped to attract the Cyclops herself, and who began the talk by saying scornfully, “A fine lover you’ve got—that Sicilian shepherd. Everybody’s talking about it.”

From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton

Back at Paultons Park the zoo had devised miniature vases designed to keep the stems alive while preventing any newly hatched nymphs from falling into water.

From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026

Intermittently “Ballade” includes a lustrous sisterhood of what seem to be junior nymphs attending their sibling.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2025

In certain groups of centipedes, Machado writes, "this apparently increases offspring survival, because without the mother the eggs and nymphs always die from fungal attack or unknown reasons."

From Salon ● May 11, 2025

Fried cicada nymphs were dressed on top with a warm mixture of creole mustard and soy sauce.

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 18, 2024

Leo looked around to see if the nymphs were laughing.

From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan