nimbly
"nimbly" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“nimbly” is uncommon English (frequency #73,476 among 1,534 “N” headwords), classed as an adverb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #73,476
- frequency rank, English
- 1,534
- “N” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - in a nimble manner
Corpus desk
Index EN-nimbly · nimbly · English
nimbly · rank #73,476 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #73,476
- LEN-LONG 6 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 1,534
- PHOTO-FINISH Nilsen
Nearest frequency peer: Nilsen (-1 rank slots)
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
Long-tail ranks near “nimbly”
Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter
- neocortex
neocortex
26,528 corpus weight
- Nilsen
Nilsen
26,526 corpus weight
- nimbly
nimbly
26,525 corpus weight
- NLD
NLD
26,524 corpus weight
- noddy
noddy
26,522 corpus weight
- noice
noice
26,521 corpus weight
What this shows Long-tail view: where “nimbly” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | nimbly |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adverb |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #73,476 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “nimbly” in English
Rare enough to double-check
nimbly is uncommon English at frequency #73,476 among 1,534 “N” headwords, classed as anadverb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "in a nimble manner".
nimbly has no tracked misspelling variants, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From nimble + -ly. The correct English form is nimbly, spelled N-I-M-B-L-Y.
Definition
- 1in a nimble manner
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how nimbly appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
And now, in ſtead of mounting Barbed Steeds, / To fright the Soules of fearfull Aduersaries, / He capers nimbly in a Ladies Chamber, / To the laſcivious pleaſing of a Lute.
“Nimbly” quoth he, “do the fingers move / If a man be but used to his trade.”
Etymology
From nimble + -ly.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "nimbly"?
What does "nimbly" mean?
What is the origin of the word "nimbly"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "nimbly", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).