nimble

adjective

nim·​ble ˈnim-bəl How to pronounce nimble (audio)
1
: quick and light in motion : agile
nimble fingers
a nimble climber
2
a
: marked by quick, alert, clever conception (see conception sense 3), comprehension (see comprehension sense 1a), or resourcefulness
a nimble mind
nimble investors
b
: responsive, sensitive
a nimble listener
nothing like playacting to make you nimble in your feelingsMary Austin
nimbleness noun
nimbly adverb

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 on the Web The digitally dexterous workforce is highly analytical, collaborative, and nimble. Mark A. Cohen, Forbes, 27 Feb. 2024 Administration leaders were hammering out arrangements late into the evening Thursday, emails show, with hours remaining on the measure that among other things loosens procurement rules to enable a more nimble response to a crisis that claims more lives annually in the District than gun violence. Jenna Portnoy, Washington Post, 18 Feb. 2024 The unexpectedly nimble character of this Flying Spur is owed to the winning trifecta of active all-wheel drive—automatically varying output delivery front and back—as well as all-wheel steering and the Bentley Dynamic Ride system. Viju Mathew, Robb Report, 13 Feb. 2024 Today’s scammers are nimble and aided by sophisticated tools. Michael Steinbach, Fortune, 9 Feb. 2024 My own favorite is John Szwed’s Billie Holiday (2015), which is demystifying in a good way—nimble, intelligent, elegantly written. Elizabeth Barber, Harper's Magazine, 2 Feb. 2024 Despite its pedestrian acceleration rating of 0-to-60 miles per hour in 8.1 seconds, the vehicle’s nimble driving and diminutive stature define its peppy personality. James Raia, The Mercury News, 21 Jan. 2024 Multifamily properties will have to stay nimble amid evolving regulations governing HVAC equipment, maintenance, emission controls and more to ensure properties positively contribute to environmental preservation. Karl Pomeroy, Forbes, 15 Feb. 2024 On oboe, Owens was a special standout, her clean, cool, nimble lines in gorgeous conversation with Francisco’s voice. Michael Andor Brodeur, Washington Post, 9 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'nimble.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English nemel, nymyl, nemyll "agile, quick, capable, apt," probably going back to a by-form of later Old English numul, numol, næmel (once) "quick to grasp," from num-, *nǣm-, ablaut forms of niman (class IV strong verb) "to take, get hold of" + -ol, deverbal adjective suffix; niman going back to Germanic *neman- "to take" (whence also Old Frisian nima, nema "to take, appropriate, seize," Old Saxon niman "to take [off], get, accept," Middle Dutch nemen "to take, keep," Old High German neman "to take, seize," Old Icelandic nema "to take, get," Gothic niman "to take away, receive, accept"), perhaps going back to an Indo-European verbal base *nem- "apportion, distribute," whence also Greek némō, némein "to graze, pasture (animals), have management or control of, rule, direct, distribute, apportion, assign, give," (middle voice) némomai, némesthai "to feed on, occupy, inhabit, enjoy" and perhaps as a nominal derivative Latin numerus "numerical sum or symbol, quantity, aggregate" (< *nomeso-)

Note: The suffix of Old English numul, etc., is presumably the same as in swicol "deceitful" (compare swician "to deceive, cheat") and forewitol "knowing in advance" (compare witan "to know"). — The Germanic verb *neman- "to take" appears to mean the opposite of Greek némein, one of whose many senses is "to give," though the meaning usually taken to be primary is "to distribute, apportion." However, as illustrated by the multiple senses of Gothic niman, taking can also imply receiving and accepting. Hypothetically, the middle voice forms of Greek némein might be expected to mean "receive (what has been assigned or distributed)," though the attested meaning is "feed on, inhabit, enjoy," as indicated in the etymology. E. Benveniste pointed to the use of Gothic arbinumja "heir" (literally, "one receiving the inheritance," with -numja a derivative of niman) as a translation of Greek klēronómos, with the agentive element -nomos being a derivative, with o-grade ablaut, of némein (see Le vocabulaire des institutions indo-européennes, tome 1 [Paris, 1969], pp. 81-86). A variety of other formations have been taken as derivatives of Indo-European *nem- in addition to Latin numerus: Sanskrit námaḥ "reverence, respect, respectful greeting," Avestan nəmah- "reverence, obeisance, loan" (though these are at least as likely from *nem- "bow," as in Sanskrit námati "[s/he] bends, bows"); Greek némos "grove, thicket, pasture," Latin nemus "wood, forest, sacred grove," Old Irish nemed "sacred place, sanctuary" (< "what has been apportioned, sacrifice"?); Lithuanian núoma "rent, lease," Latvian noma (nuõma). An older hypothesis, recently revived, connects Germanic *neman- with Indo-European *h1em- "take" (see redeem). G. Kroonen hypothesizes that *neman- grew out of a prefixed verb *gam-eman (in Indo-European terms *kom-h1em-e-), altered by dissimilation to *gan-eman- and then reanalyzed as *ga-neman-, with *ga- taken as the perfective prefix ga- (Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic [Brill, 2013], following a suggestion by F. Kortlandt in "The Germanic Fifth Class of Strong Verbs," NOWELE, vol. 19, no. 1 [1992], p. 104). See discussion in R. Lühr et al., Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Althochdeutschen, Band 6, pp. 878-81; the editors reject the Kortlandt-Kroonen hypothesis. For further derivatives of Greek némein see nomad, nomogram, nomothetic, -nomy.

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of nimble was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near nimble

Cite this Entry

“Nimble.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nimble. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

nimble

adjective
nim·​ble ˈnim-bəl How to pronounce nimble (audio)
nimbler -b(ə-)lər How to pronounce nimble (audio) ; nimblest -b(ə-)ləst How to pronounce nimble (audio)
1
: quick and light in motion : agile
a nimble dancer
2
: quick in understanding and learning : clever
a nimble mind
nimbleness noun
nimbly adverb

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