agile

adjective

ag·​ile ˈa-jəl  -ˌjī(-ə)l 

1

: marked by ready ability to move with quick easy grace

an agile dancer

2

: having a quick resourceful and adaptable character

an agile mind

agilely

ˈa-jə(l)-lē 

-ˌjī(-ə)(l)-lē

adverb

Synonyms

• graceful

Examples of agile in a Sentence

Leopards are very fast and agile.

the expressive movements of agile dancers

Recent Examples on the Web

The result is a smarter, more agile manufacturing environment where robots can interpret a machine’s job, understand processing routines, and assess operational status in real time. —Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 13 Oct. 2025

Instead, the mark of leadership will be managing agile teams of human and AI collaborators—delegating, coordinating, and integrating outputs to achieve greater results than either type of contributor could alone. —Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 10 Oct. 2025

Friendly goats treat downward dog posers as their own obstacle courses, scrambling atop yogis who may just find that supporting the weight of their agile farm friends is a surprisingly vigorous — and hilarious — core workout. —John Metcalfe, Mercury News, 7 Oct. 2025

Figure skaters with cats on their heads, dog astronauts gobbling tennis balls, unusually agile horseback riders standing astride multiple animals — these were some of the snippets seen in its short video presentation. —Julian Sancton, HollywoodReporter, 30 Sep. 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Middle French & Latin; Middle French, borrowed from Latin agilis, from agere "to drive, be in motion, do, perform" + -ilis -ile entry 1 — more at agent

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for agile

• fragile

Kids Definition

agile

adjective

ag·​ile ˈaj-əl  -ˌīl 

1

: able to move quickly and easily : nimble

an agile gymnast

2

: mentally quick

an agile thinker

agilely

-ə(l)-lē 

-ˌī(l)-lē

adverb

agility

ə-ˈjil-ət-ē

noun

Etymology

Latin agilis "nimble, agile," from agere "to drive, act, do" — related to act, agent