Definition of NIMBLE

Examples of nimble in a Sentence

possessing a nimble wit, he always has a cutting comeback for any intended insult thrown his way
her nimble fingers make knitting look so easy

Recent Examples of nimble from the Web

Two-strokes are nimble, fast, and fun—but also dirty and inefficient.

— nick goddard, Popular Mechanics, "KTM's New Fuel-Injected Two-Strokes Could Save the Endangered Engine", 27 June 2017
But questions remain about whether such an intervention would keep us mentally nimble, says Mr. Stickgold, who is also director of the Center for Sleep and Cognition at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.

— bonnie miller rubin, WSJ, "A Possible Path to Better Sleep—and a Better Memory", 25 June 2017
The cast is as nimble and as profoundly theatrical as a show could hope for; the actors shift from role to role, language to language, accent to accent, old to young and back again.

— toby zinman, Philly.com, "'Indecent': Inventive, courageous love letter to the art of theater", 18 June 2017
The job requires someone adept at navigating Texas’ brand of full-contact politics and a nimble approach through the partisan squabbles in the state Capitol.

— Washington Post, "Military hero McRaven having trouble as Texas chancellor", 18 June 2017
In an ideal world, drivers would be nimble and attentive and be able to keep an eye on several cars ahead of them, allowing the driver to react to various scenarios with a light tap on their brakes.

— NBC News, "If Elon Musk Can't Solve Our Traffic Woes, These Technologies Just Might", 7 June 2017
The proposal highlights a culture divide between the federal government and the private sector, from which Trump hails and which many conservatives laud as more nimble and effective than government bureaucracy.

— laurent belsie, The Christian Science Monitor, "Trump’s touchy question: Would private sector be better at air traffic control?", 6 June 2017
As evidence that NATO is heeding his call to be more aggressive on terrorism, the president has cited an alliance decision last year to establish a high-level intelligence coordinator who could make the alliance more nimble in responding to threats.

— Washington Post, "AP FACT CHECK: Attack draws visceral Trump tweets, not facts", 5 June 2017
Germany’s Lufthansa is considering stretching out deliveries of Boeing’s new 777X aircraft, concerned about the cost and size of the big jet as the aviation industry shifts to smaller, more nimble planes.

— julie johnsson, The Seattle Times, "Lufthansa weighs slowing deliveries of 777X, which would be blow to Boeing", 1 June 2017

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

Origin and Etymology of nimble

Middle English nimel, from Old English numol holding much, from niman to take; akin to Old High German neman to take, Greek nemein to distribute, manage, nomos pasture, nomos usage, custom, law

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First Known Use: 14th century

See Words from the same year

nimble Synonyms

nimble