sleight

American  

[slahyt] / slaɪt /

noun

1. skill; dexterity.

2. an artifice; stratagem.

3. cunning; craft.

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sleight British  

/ slaɪt /

noun

1. skill; dexterity See also sleight of hand

2. a trick or stratagem

3. cunning; trickery

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Usage

What does sleight mean? Sleight means skill, especially with one’s hands (dexterity). It can also mean trickery or cunning, or a specific trick or scheme. Sleight is by far most commonly used in the phrase sleight of hand, whose meanings are very similar to those of sleight: manual dexterity, general trickery, or a trick performed with quick and skillful hand movements. Sleight and sleight of hand are especially associated with coin and card tricks that require such hand movements. They’re also associated with deceptive ways of stealing, such as pickpocketing. Sleight should not be confused with the word slight, which has the same pronunciation. As an adjective, slight means small or insignificant. As a noun, it commonly means the act of treating someone with indifference or snubbing them. Example: The illusionist spent years perfecting his sleight so that it was undetectable even at close range.

Etymology

Origin of sleight

1225–75; Middle English; early Middle English slēgth < Old Norse slǣgth. See sly, -th ¹

Explanation

The noun sleight refers to being able to use your hands with ease, especially when doing a trick. Sleight is often used in the phrase "sleight of hand." If you are a good magician, you can make a coin disappear with sleight of hand. The noun sleight refers to cunning or cleverness, especially when used to trick or deceive. You can use a sleight of mind to trick yourself into believing that if you eat a box of cookies at dinnertime, it counts as dinner. The word sleight has a long history and comes from the Middle English word sleghth, which also meant "cunning." Back then, people would have pronounced the "gh" — even though today we don't.

Example Sentences

But Beethoven also questions every sentiment in the Mass. Grandeur can so suddenly turn solemn that it feels almost a ceremonial sleight of hand.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 24, 2026

The most recent sleight of hand is circular financing.

From MarketWatch • Oct. 24, 2025

But that narrative is also a sleight of hand.

From Salon • Sep. 11, 2025

But, as Kagan exposed, this was a rhetorical sleight of hand.

From Slate • May 15, 2025

I can learn to hustle, learn some sleight of hand of my own.

From "X: A Novel" by Ilyasah Shabazz