nimble
nim·ble/ˈnɪmbəl/adjective, verb
nimble is spelled N-I-M-B-L-E: 6 letters and 2 syllables (nim·ble). It appears 1.2 times per million words in written English, the 26,420th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, nimble means “Adept at taking or grasping” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in nimble?
| Letters | 6: N-I-M-B-L-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: nim·ble |
| In writing | 1.2 times per million words; the 26,420th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is nimble?
Nimble appears 1.2 times per million words in written English, the 26,420th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce nimble?
- /ˈnɪmbəl/
- [ˈnɪmbəl] ~ [ˈnɪmbl̩]
Nimble has 2 syllables, split nim·ble in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-I_learned_some_phrases-nimble.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of nimble
- nimbler comparative
- nimblest superlative
- nimbles present, singular, he/she/it
- nimbling participle, present
- nimbled participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does nimble mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Adept at taking or grasping.
nimble fingers
- 2
Quick and light in movement or action.
He was too nimble for the assailant and easily escaped his grasp.
- 3
Quickwitted and alert.
He has a nimble mind and can improvise in any situation.
verb
- 1
To move nimbly.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Nimble in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| Spanish | diestro , ágil , hábil, despierto, avispado |
| French | agile, fulgurant, preste, leste , vif |
| German | schnell, gelenkig, behänd, flink, wendig, leichtfüssig |
| Portuguese | ágil, ligeiro , esperto |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does nimble come from?
With intrusive -b-, inherited from Middle English nymyl, nemel, nemyll, nymell (“agile, quick, ready, able, capable”), a merger of Old English nǣmel (“receptive, quick to grasp”) and Old English numol (“able to take, capable of holding”), both from niman (“to take”) + -el, -ol (associative suffix), corresponding to nim + -le. Compare German nehmen, Gothic 𐌽𐌹𐌼𐌰𐌽 (niman), Old Norse nema (“to take”). More at nim.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).