niftier; niftiest
informal
: very good: such as
a
: very attractive or appealing
nifty clothes
Jon Gnagy was an artist—you could tell this by the nifty goatee he wore …—
Andy Meisler
Andy Meisler
b
: very pleasant or enjoyable
a nifty performance
… this barrier isle off North Carolina's southernmost coast still provides a nifty getaway.—Spike Gillespie
Spike GillespieThe Smithereens consistently present nifty, driving songs, quite involved by pop standards.—David Hiltbrand
David Hiltbrand
c
: very interesting or clever : ingenious
a nifty device
The museum's gift shop is well-stocked, complete with a nifty machine that, for $1, will crush a fresh penny into a copper medal bearing the likeness of T. Rex.—Carl Wayne Arrington
Carl Wayne ArringtonSome investors are catching on to a nifty tax-saving trick allowable by Roth IRA rules.—Karen Hube
Karen Hube
d
: well-executed
A fan leaned out of the stands and made a nifty grab of the ricochet, and received a nice round of applause.—George Vecsay
George Vecsay
niftily
adverb
Harrison is an upwardly mobile … young man with a wife, son and a niftily restored house in San Francisco.
—John J. O'Connor
John J. O'Connor
plural nifties
: something that is nifty
especially
: a clever or neatly turned phrase or joke
Examples of nifty in a Sentence
Adjective
a nifty pair of shoes
This nifty little machine can do just about anything.
Noun
though ostensibly a drama, the play is filled with zingy little nifties that lighten the mood
that joke was a nifty
Recent Examples on the Web
ArsTechnica, 17 Sep. 2025
Plus, grab knife sets and a nifty electric can opener to streamline your cooking.
—Alicia Geigel, Southern Living, 16 Sep. 2025
After the Buffs’ opening drive stalled at midfield, leading to a nifty Damon Graves punt that pinned Houston to its own 3, the hosts got out the cleavers and went to work.
—Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 13 Sep. 2025
Ford went on to explain to the bemused host that Leno owns a host of nifty machines — including several 3D printers.
—Toria Sheffield, PEOPLE, 13 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for nifty
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Adjective
Beyond a glassy, bubbly new design, the update’s flashiest new features also include new Apple Intelligence AI integration that varies in usefulness, from fluffy new Genmoji abilities to a nifty live translation feature for Phones, Messages, and FaceTime.
—ArsTechnica, 17 Sep. 2025
Plus, grab knife sets and a nifty electric can opener to streamline your cooking.
—Alicia Geigel, Southern Living, 16 Sep. 2025
After the Buffs’ opening drive stalled at midfield, leading to a nifty Damon Graves punt that pinned Houston to its own 3, the hosts got out the cleavers and went to work.
—Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 13 Sep. 2025
Ford went on to explain to the bemused host that Leno owns a host of nifty machines — including several 3D printers.
—Toria Sheffield, PEOPLE, 13 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for nifty
Cite this Entry
“Nifty.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nifty. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
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