sleight

noun

ˈslīt 

1

: deceitful craftiness

also : stratagem

2

: dexterity, skill

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it slight or sleight of hand?

Slight is a homophone of sleight, and feels like it makes sense in this idiom, but sleight of hand is the correct form when referring to a cleverly executed trick. Sleight means "deceitful craftiness" or "stratagem," and slight means "having a slim or delicate build"; a slim person is sometimes described as being "slight of build."

What is the difference between sleight and slight?

Slight is the far more common word. In modern use it can be a verb meaning "to offend or insult someone" (as in "slighted by a rude colleague"), or a noun closely related to that verb ("the colleague's remark could only be seen as a slight"), or it can be an adjective describing people and things that are slim, frail, small, or trivial ("a slight figure," "a slight chance," "a slight movie"). Sleight is a noun that can refer either to a deceitful kind of craftiness, or to skill and dexterity. It is typically found in the phrase "sleight of hand," or variations on that phrase (as in "sleight of pen").

Is the correct phrase sleight chance or slight chance?

Slight chance: slight in this case means "small." If rain is possible but not very likely on a given day, there's a slight chance of rain. If you buy only one of 500 raffle tickets sold, you have a slight chance of winning.

Synonyms of sleight

• ruse
• trick
• scheme
• device

Examples of sleight in a Sentence

must have employed some sophisticated sleight to con that wary couple out of their money

a brilliant new theory that pays tribute to his remarkable sleight of mind

Recent Examples on the Web

This felt personal, like the Wolverines weren’t merely trying to beat the Wildcats but use the Wildcats as some punching bag to eradicate a ghost, or vindicate some sleight. —Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 5 Apr. 2026

In these cases, the shots are so open that the defender has to try a frantic, sleight-of-hand technique, one of his many patented flails that are always spirited and sometimes, when a rogue face gets in the way, dangerous. —Fred Katz, New York Times, 2 Apr. 2026

Many seemingly complex magic tricks rely on a simple mix of old-fashioned sleight-of-hand and misdirection. —Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 1 Apr. 2026

The short-seller set out its allegations on March 17, blasting out a report to journalists and social media that claimed SoFi had not actually sold a $312 million loan package but kept it on the company’s books with a sleight-of-hand financing arrangement. —Jeff John Roberts, Fortune, 25 Mar. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Old Norse slœgth, from slœgr sly — more at sly

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing sleight

• sleight of hand

Rhymes for sleight

• bight
• bite
• blight
• byte
• cite
• dight
• fight
• fite
• flight
• fright
• height
• hight

Kids Definition

sleight

noun

ˈslīt 

1

a

: sly trickery

b

: trick entry 1 sense 1d, stratagem

2

: dexterity, skill