Nim

/nɪm/ · verb

Meaning

(obsolete, transitive) To take or seize..

Definitions by Sense

1. (obsolete, transitive) To take or seize.
2. (archaic, slang, transitive) To filch, steal, pilfer.
3. (intransitive, UK dialectal) To walk with short, quick strides; trip along.
4. A game in which players take turns removing objects from heaps.
5. Alternative form of neem (“Indian tree”).

Example Sentences

Ich cham a Cornysche man, al[e] che can brew; […] Nym me a quart of ale, that iche may it of sup.

Then Alfyne to the court Of Syleuma doth come, And Pandauola in her armes Her Alfyne hath up num And kisseth him full ofte […]

Gryndall carefully sets out the difference between seizing or nimming a bird (an outcome that would constitute a partly successful flight) and taking the bird outright: 'And if your Hawke noume [nim, seize] a foule, and the foule breake from her, she hath discomfited many feathers of the foule, and is broken away: but in kindly speech you shall say, your hawke hath noumed or seased a foule, and not taken it'.

Nimming and niftering whativver he can try his fists on.

They nim a pig, a duck, or fowl.

They'll question Mars, and, by his look, Detect who 'twas that nimm'd a cloak;

But while he fell in some brave exploit, you, I suppose, being provident rogues and thieves of discretion, were on the sure lay, pilfering little thefts among the mob, fearfully nimming a cloak or rifling some old woman's bulk of a stock to set up a piece-broker's shop.

Shall we go nim a horse, Tom,—what dost think? […] Nim? yes, yes, yes, let's nim with all my heart; I see no harm in nimming, for my part; […] Were it my lord mayor's hourse—I'd nim it first. [...A horse] they stole, or, as they called it, nimmed, Just as the twilight all the landscape dimmed. […] What is most likely, is that both these elves Were, in like manner, halter-nimmed themselves.

Synonyms for nim

Antonyms for nim

Related Words

Word Forms

• nims
• nimming
• nam
• nimmed
• num

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

Practice and Learn More

Frequently Asked Questions