Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

nifty

/ˈnɪfti/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.17 in modern English

Syllables: nifty
IPA: /ˈnɪfti/

11

Scrabble Score

5

Letters

2

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Good, smart; useful or beneficial, often in an impressively clever way.

Colloquial; Dated

adj

Colloquial; Dated

noun

A possibly risqué comic story or anecdote.

Colloquial; Dated

noun

Colloquial; Dated

Example Sentences

"a nifty trick for reducing your household energy bill"
"The ‘bot makes this easier; scraping the NFL livescores page with some nifty Javascript,^([sic]) it tracks each game live for potential first-time scores; the most recent as of writing being the Chiefs beating the Texans 51-31. Not only that, but the ‘bot estimates the most likely possible scorigami scores of games in progress, keeping fans on tenterhooks until the final whistle is blown. Or is it a siren in NFL? Inquiring minds need to know."
"nifty gear"
"You look nifty in that jacket."
"The niftiest, snappiest slacks you ever saw!"
"New subscribers are the life of our party (any advertiser will tell you that) just as the regular reader of CLIPPINGS becomes the life of any party (and why not with such a supply of “nifties” and bon mots)."

Etymology

From *nift + -y. First element is of unknown origin. Possibly theatrical slang, as a shortened, altered form of Magnificat. Alternatively, perhaps a special use of US regional niffed (“put off, peeved”).

Usage

Inflected Forms

niftier (comparative) niftiest (superlative) nifties (plural)

Derived Forms

niftily niftiness

Synonyms

bang-up bully corking cracking dandy great groovy keen neat not bad peachy slap-up

Rhymes With

fifty thrifty shifty gifty swiftie

Questions

How do you pronounce nifty?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈnɪfti/.
What does nifty mean?: Good, smart; useful or beneficial, often in an impressively clever way.
Where does nifty come from?: From *nift + -y. First element is of unknown origin. Possibly theatrical slang, as a shortened, altered form of Magnificat. Alternatively, perhaps a special use of US regional niffed (“put off, peeved”).

How to pronounce nifty

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “nifty”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈnɪfti/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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