niftier; niftiest
informal
: very good: such as
a
: very attractive or appealing
nifty clothes
Jon Gnagy was an artist—you could tell this by the nifty goatee he wore …—
Andy Meisler
Andy Meisler
b
: very pleasant or enjoyable
a nifty performance
… this barrier isle off North Carolina's southernmost coast still provides a nifty getaway.—Spike Gillespie
Spike GillespieThe Smithereens consistently present nifty, driving songs, quite involved by pop standards.—David Hiltbrand
David Hiltbrand
c
: very interesting or clever : ingenious
a nifty device
The museum's gift shop is well-stocked, complete with a nifty machine that, for $1, will crush a fresh penny into a copper medal bearing the likeness of T. Rex.—Carl Wayne Arrington
Carl Wayne ArringtonSome investors are catching on to a nifty tax-saving trick allowable by Roth IRA rules.—Karen Hube
Karen Hube
d
: well-executed
A fan leaned out of the stands and made a nifty grab of the ricochet, and received a nice round of applause.—George Vecsay
George Vecsay
niftily
adverb
Harrison is an upwardly mobile … young man with a wife, son and a niftily restored house in San Francisco.
—John J. O'Connor
John J. O'Connor
plural nifties
: something that is nifty
especially
: a clever or neatly turned phrase or joke
Examples of nifty in a Sentence
Adjective
a nifty pair of shoes
This nifty little machine can do just about anything.
Noun
though ostensibly a drama, the play is filled with zingy little nifties that lighten the mood
that joke was a nifty
Recent Examples on the Web
Meghan Montemurro, Chicago Tribune, 13 July 2025
One of the first in the now exceedingly popular date night genre, this nifty book has 50 date ideas to keep things interesting for you and your boo.
—Wired, Wired News, 10 July 2025
All three of his touchdowns came on plays inside the 10-yard line, including a nifty run during a Week 3 win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
—Nick Kosmider, New York Times, 9 July 2025
And then, Michael Bay showed up in 2007 and turned the nifty shapeshifters into screeching metallic war machines who died violent digital deaths and rained sparks and destruction upon cities — for seven movies and counting.
—Marc Snetiker, EW.com, 8 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for nifty
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Adjective
Seiya Suzuki scored from second on Pete Crow-Armstrong’s infield single, beating first baseman Paul Goldschmidt’s throw home with a nifty slide to tack on an insurance run in the seventh to give the Cubs a three-run lead.
—Meghan Montemurro, Chicago Tribune, 13 July 2025
One of the first in the now exceedingly popular date night genre, this nifty book has 50 date ideas to keep things interesting for you and your boo.
—Wired, Wired News, 10 July 2025
All three of his touchdowns came on plays inside the 10-yard line, including a nifty run during a Week 3 win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
—Nick Kosmider, New York Times, 9 July 2025
And then, Michael Bay showed up in 2007 and turned the nifty shapeshifters into screeching metallic war machines who died violent digital deaths and rained sparks and destruction upon cities — for seven movies and counting.
—Marc Snetiker, EW.com, 8 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for nifty
Cite this Entry
“Nifty.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nifty. Accessed 19 Jul. 2025.
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