Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective First-rate; great.
  • noun A nifty person or thing, especially a clever joke.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Good in style and appearance; up to the mark.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective informal, 1960's Very good; excellent; -- an informal term meaning about the same as groovy, sense 1.
  • adjective Stylish; attractive; -- of clothing.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Good; a general term for anything that is good, useful or beneficial.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective very good

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Origin unknown.]

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Examples

  • So, the WebOS looks nifty from the perspective of January, but does it from June?

    Pre Aside, Palm Isn’t Quite Out of the Woods 2009

  • They suggested inserts in nifty colors with names reminiscentof a fruit salad.

    2010 March « Denmeister 2010

  • The end of the world as we know it in nifty flash format.

    Waldo Jaquith - An illustration of the loss of polar ice. 2007

  • Many years ago, I first picked up brush and paint and pewter miniature and set to work making something nifty from the combination.

    Juggalos In The Strangest Places archmage 2006

  • MAX PAYNE: Kung Fu Edition sounds really cool ... an add on to the original Max Payne (a couple of years old already) that lets you do some serious ass kicking kung fu style in nifty bullet time!

    Max Payne Kung Fu Edition - UFies.org 2003

  • MAX PAYNE: Kung Fu Edition sounds really cool ... an add on to the original Max Payne (a couple of years old already) that lets you do some serious ass kicking kung fu style in nifty bullet time!

    UFies.org: April 2003 Archives 2003

  • I don't think these people realize that a lot of programs are not in place simply because they are "nifty" - they're things that are aimed to increase the overall wellness of the American people through education, health, and lower crime rates.

    Tea Party Express rallies against 'big government' 2009

  • - spoon cake batter into tin/s. arrange extra almonds on top in nifty patterns.

    cake, cake, and more bloody cake 2004

  • in Washington, where Barack Obama is giving Gordon Brown what, where I come from, they call a nifty body-swerve:

    Libertarian Blog Place 2009

  • This recent introduction to Pakistan's baffling complexities of history, enmities between Islamist groups, ethnic differences and civilian-military relations can prove daunting, not to mention time-consuming, particularly to American lawmakers looking to coin nifty sound bites on the 'Afpak' question.

    altmuslim editor@altmuslim.com 2010

Comments

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  • As in, "That was." Cool Buffy ref ;)

    June 14, 2007

  • "Anders Eriksson started the play with a nifty sidestep move at the blue line" - Vancouver Sun, 12-31-07

    January 11, 2008