nifty

adjective nif·ty \ ˈnif-tē \

|Updated on: 17 Jun 2018

Examples: nifty in a Sentence

Definition of nifty

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

b : very pleasant or enjoyable

a nifty performance

… this barrier isle off North Carolina's southernmost coast still provides a nifty getaway.
—Spike Gillespie

The Smithereens consistently present nifty, driving songs, quite involved by pop standards.
—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

Some investors are catching on to a nifty tax-saving trick allowable by Roth IRA rules.
—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

—

niftily

play \ˈnif-tə-lē\ adverb

- Harrison is an upwardly mobile … young man with a wife, son and a niftily restored house in San Francisco.
- —John J. O'Connor

See nifty defined for English-language learners

See nifty defined for kids

Examples of nifty in a Sentence

a nifty pair of shoes
This nifty little machine can do just about anything.

Recent Examples of nifty from the Web

The slow-footed, 265-pound Bour legged out a double in the sixth inning, capping the hit with a nifty head-first slide into second base and drawing comparisons to Triple Crown winner Justify from his manager.

— matthew defranks, Sun-Sentinel.com, "A Closer Look: San Diego Padres 5, Miami Marlins 4," 10 June 2018
Futsal, a five-a-side game with a small ball requiring nifty technique, honed the skills of great Iberian and Latin American players—from Pelé and Diego Maradona to Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Neymar and Andrés Iniesta.

— The Economist, "What makes a country good at football?," 9 June 2018
While the first half of the film is a petty perfunctory rehash of 1997’s The Lost World, with poachers rounding up dinosaurs for profit and a little bit of sport, the second half of Fallen Kingdom does something nifty.

— richard lawson, HWD, "Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom," 5 June 2018
Eric has details of Warren's 16 meetings since March with Native American leaders, as well as a nifty redirect her digital team came up with.

— eric bradner, CNN, "2020 Insight: Bernie on the ballot in Iowa," 2 June 2018
That’s why Mapbox’s kit also includes some nifty features companies like Instacart and DoorDash can use to help their drivers get around.

— alex davies, WIRED, "Mapbox Uses Your Phone's Camera to Chart a Changing World," 30 May 2018
Early in the fourth quarter, after missing open three-point tries during a lull in Golden State’s offense, Thompson took his game to the lane, driving in for a nifty layup and foul, completing a three-point play that proved crucial.

— al saracevic, San Francisco Chronicle, "Warriors’ Klay Thompson predicts championship effort, then delivers," 25 Apr. 2018
Chiozza had a steal and a nifty left-handed layup, Koulechov buried a 3-pointer and Allen blocked a 3-point attempt then took the ball the distance for another basket.

— chris hays, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Late Texas Tech bucket knocks Florida Gators out of NCAA Tournament," 18 Mar. 2018
One play removed from his nifty layup through an Antetokounmpo foul, Schroder was called for his sixth foul while guarding Eric Bledsoe and also received a technical foul for arguing on his way out.

— matt velazquez, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Bucks 122, Hawks 117: Antetokounmpo, Middleton take control," 17 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'nifty.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.