nigh

1 of 4

adverb

ˈnī 

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

• around
• by
• close
• hard
• in
• near
• nearby

Adjective

• close
• close-up
• immediate
• near
• nearby
• neighboring
• next-door
• proximate

Preposition

• about
• around
• by
• near
• next to

Verb

• approach
• belly up
• close
• close in
• come up
• draw on
• near

Examples of nigh in a Sentence

Adverb

The snow is melting. Spring is nigh.

It would be nigh impossible to fix it.

Adjective

the end is nigh

Preposition

a field nigh the church

Verb

as the hour of his death was nighing

as the old man was nighing his hour of death

Recent Examples on the Web

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

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

Phrases Containing nigh

• draw near/nigh
• well-nigh

Kids Definition

nigh

1 of 2 adverb

ˈnī 

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