1

nigh

adverb \ ˈnī \

|Updated on: 11 Jul 2018

Examples: nigh in a Sentence

Definition of nigh

1 : near in place, time, or relationship

Morning was drawing nigh.

—often used with on, onto, or unto

served … for nigh on forty years
—M. S. Tisdale

2 : nearly, almost

… once well nigh broke his neck, by a fall from one of its branches.
—Washington Irving

See nigh defined for English-language learners

See nigh defined for kids

Examples of nigh in a Sentence

The snow is melting. Spring is nigh.
It would be nigh impossible to fix it.

Recent Examples of nigh from the Web

Many of the 653 pitchers taken in the June Major League Baseball draft will have their own watershed moment where the end seems nigh.

— ray glier, USA TODAY, "Ups and downs of minor league bullpens," 5 July 2018
That gift may come as small comfort against the growing creakiness of joints and the still-mounting probability that the end is nigh.

— melissa healy, latimes.com, "Can humans reach even older age? We haven't maxed out yet, some scientists say," 28 June 2018
The North Africans appeared the hungrier of the sides in the second half and an aerial ball from deep in the 49th minute well-nigh set Moubarak Boussoufa up with a goal.

— SI.com, "Spain 2-2 Morocco: Late Drama Sees La Roja Top Group B After Falling Behind Twice," 25 June 2018
Republican congressman Steve Scalise responded to Waters with a vapid, tut-tutting bromide hinting that the end of the republic, should her stance gain traction, is nigh.

— jay willis, GQ, "Public Shaming Is Powerful," 25 June 2018
Trump is not incapacitated by brain damage; but he is debilitated by nigh-superhuman sloth and incuriosity.

— eric levitz, Daily Intelligencer, "Trump’s Briefing Book Includes ‘Screen Grabs of Cable-News Chyrons’," 8 June 2018
Unfortunately, the last update this model received from Apple was all the way back in 2014, and the refresh made the poor Mini slower in some configurations and nigh impossible to upgrade in all of them.

— brendan nystedt, WIRED, "The Best Mac Alternatives," 13 June 2018
As the crowd watched in silence, and military members rendered salute, Daley held the final note before bringing the bugle call to an end: All is well, safely rest, God is nigh.

— chapel fowler, charlotteobserver, "'Super humbling.' Army bugler relishes her part in NASCAR's military tribute. | Charlotte Observer," 27 May 2018
The commercialization of self-driving tech is nigh.

— aarian marshall, WIRED, "California's Heavy-Handed Plan to Regulate the Self-Driving Car Biz," 24 May 2018

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

Origin and Etymology of nigh

Middle English, from Old English nēah; akin to Old High German nāh, adverb, nigh, preposition, nigh, after, Old Norse nā- nigh

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: before 12th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

nigh Synonyms

Synonyms

about, all but, almost, borderline, fairly, more or less, most, much, near, nearly, next to, practically, somewhere, virtually, well-nigh;

Near Antonyms

absolutely, altogether, completely, entirely, fully, plain, quite, thoroughly;

totally, utterly, well, wholly;

barely, hardly, scarcely;

Related Words

appreciably, by and large, chiefly, largely, mainly, mostly;

kind of, partially, partly, somewhat;

Phrases

as good as, just about, pretty much, within an inch of;

2

nigh

adjective

Definition of nigh

1 : close, near

2 chiefly dialectal : direct, short

3 : being on the left side

the nigh horse

Recent Examples of nigh from the Web

While Vesuvius buried Pompeii in lava and ash 14 years later, the end wasn't exactly nigh for the entire planet.

— National Geographic, "No, the World Will Not End on April 23," 13 Apr. 2018
While Vesuvius buried Pompeii in lava and ash 14 years later, the end wasn't exactly nigh for the entire planet.

— National Geographic, "No, the World Will Not End on April 23," 13 Apr. 2018
While Vesuvius buried Pompeii in lava and ash 14 years later, the end wasn't exactly nigh for the entire planet.

— National Geographic, "No, the World Will Not End on April 23," 13 Apr. 2018
While Vesuvius buried Pompeii in lava and ash 14 years later, the end wasn't exactly nigh for the entire planet.

— National Geographic, "No, the World Will Not End on April 23," 13 Apr. 2018
While Vesuvius buried Pompeii in lava and ash 14 years later, the end wasn't exactly nigh for the entire planet.

— National Geographic, "No, the World Will Not End on April 23," 13 Apr. 2018
While Vesuvius buried Pompeii in lava and ash 14 years later, the end wasn't exactly nigh for the entire planet.

— National Geographic, "No, the World Will Not End on April 23," 13 Apr. 2018
While Vesuvius buried Pompeii in lava and ash 14 years later, the end wasn't exactly nigh for the entire planet.

— National Geographic, "No, the World Will Not End on April 23," 13 Apr. 2018
After disabling those automatic scalers, the game rendered far more sharply but also became a stuttering, nigh unplayable mess.

— kyle orland and sam machkovech, Ars Technica, "HTC Vive Pro review: Eye-popping VR, with a price that’s a little too real," 3 Apr. 2018

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

Origin and Etymology of nigh

see ¹nigh

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: before 12th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

nigh Synonyms

Synonyms

close, close-up, immediate, near, nearby, neighboring, next-door, proximate;

Antonyms

away, deep, distant, far, faraway, far-off, remote;

Near Antonyms

divorced, removed, separated;

Related Words

abutting, adjacent, adjoining, bordering, contiguous;

approaching, coming, forthcoming, oncoming, upcoming;

accessible, convenient, handy;

close-in, hand-to-hand;

Phrases

at hand, to hand;

Other Dialect Terms

bespoke, boughten, lave, muchacho, spunk, thunk, toboggan

3

nigh

preposition

Definition of nigh

: near

Examples of nigh in a Sentence

a field nigh the church

Origin and Etymology of nigh

see ¹nigh

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: before 12th century

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

nigh Synonyms

Synonyms

about, around, by, near, next to;

Related Words

alongside, beside;

across, along, at;

toward (or towards);

Phrases

next door to;

4

nigh

verb

Definition of nigh

nighed; nighing; nighs

transitive verb

: to draw or come near to : approach

intransitive verb

: to draw near

Examples of nigh in a Sentence

as the hour of his death was nighing
as the old man was nighing his hour of death

Origin and Etymology of nigh

see ¹nigh

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 13th century

in the meaning defined at transitive sense

See Words from the same year

nigh Synonyms

Synonyms

approach, belly up, close, close in, come up, draw on, near;

Antonyms

back (up or away), recede, retire, retreat, withdraw;

Near Antonyms

clear out, depart, exit, go, leave, light out, pull out, quit, remove, run away, shove (off), take off, walk out;

Related Words

arrive, attain, come, gain, hit, land, make, reach, show up, turn up, waltz (up);

creep up, sneak up;

adjoin, border, touch, verge;

NIGH Defined for English Language Learners

nigh

adverb

Definition of nigh for English Language Learners

: close in time or place
: almost or nearly

NIGH Defined for Kids

1

nigh

adverb \ ˈnī \

Definition of nigh for Students

1 : near in time or place

Autumn is nigh.

I drew nigh and planted the kitten on the table …
—Richard Peck, A Long Way from Chicago

2 : almost, nearly

It was nigh impossible to hear them.

2

nigh

adjective

Definition of nigh for Students

: ³close 1, near

I wandered in the woods nigh home.

Learn More about nigh

See words that rhyme with nigh Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for nigh Spanish Central: Translation of nigh Nglish: Translation of nigh for Spanish speakers

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