nigh

1 of 4

adverb

ˈnī How to pronounce nigh (audio)
Synonyms of nighnext
1
: near in place, time, or relationship
Morning was drawing nigh.
—often used with on, onto, or unto
served … for nigh on forty years— M. S. Tisdale
2
: nearly, almost
… once well nigh broke his neck, by a fall from one of its branches.— Washington Irving

nigh

2 of 4

adjective

1
: close, near
2
chiefly dialectal : direct, short
3
: being on the left side
the nigh horse

nigh

3 of 4

preposition

: near

nigh

4 of 4

verb

nighed; nighing; nighs

transitive verb

: to draw or come near to : approach

intransitive verb

: to draw near

Synonyms

Adverb

Adjective

Preposition

Verb

See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of nigh in a Sentence

Adverb The snow is melting. Spring is nigh. It would be nigh impossible to fix it. Adjective
Recent Examples on the Web
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Adverb
With Hillman Grad’s myriad successes, the time to begin having these conversations is nigh. — Angelique Jackson, Variety, 3 Feb. 2023 Unfortunately, Divine is no longer around to star in Liarmouth, but someone call Ricki Lake — the time for a return to the Waters-ain is nigh. — Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 6 Oct. 2022 The stock-market rally that started earlier this month with a soft U.S. inflation figure has started to fade, as recent statements by officials cast doubt on the idea that the end of aggressive monetary tightening is nigh. — Jon Sindreu, WSJ, 21 Nov. 2022 Action must be taken now, in the lame-duck session, to put an end to this, because the witching hour is nigh and the GOP will have strong incentives to try to tank the economy. — Jason Linkins, The New Republic, 21 Nov. 2022 See All Example Sentences for nigh

Word History

Etymology

Adverb, Adjective, Preposition, and Verb

Middle English, from Old English nēah; akin to Old High German nāh, adverb, nigh, preposition, nigh, after, Old Norse nā- nigh

First Known Use

Adverb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Preposition

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Verb

13th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Time Traveler
The first known use of nigh was before the 12th century

Phrases Containing nigh

Rhymes for nigh

See All Rhymes for nigh

Browse Nearby Words

nigh
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Cite this Entry

“Nigh.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nigh. Accessed 25 Mar. 2025.

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Kids Definition

nigh

1 of 2 adverb
ˈnī How to pronounce nigh (audio)
1
: near in place, time, or relationship
2
: almost, nearly

nigh

2 of 2 adjective
: not far : close, near
Etymology

Adverb

Old English nēah "near, nigh" — related to near, neighbor see Word History at neighbor

More from Merriam-Webster on nigh

Nglish: Translation of nigh for Spanish Speakers

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