Dexterity Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

The meaning of DEXTERITY is readiness and grace in physical activity; especially : skill and ease in using the hands. How to use dexterity in a sentence. Login SignUp Hello, Games&Quizzes Thesaurus WordoftheDay Features BuyingGuide M-WBooks JoinMWU MyWordsMyWords ViewRecents Account LogOut dexterity noun SaveWord dex·​ter·​i·​ty |\dek-ˈster-ə-tē ,-ˈste-rə-\ pluraldexterities Definitionofdexterity 1 :readinessandgraceinphysicalactivity especially :skillandeaseinusingthehands manualdexterity 2 :mentalskillorquickness:adroitness Synonyms MoreExampleSentences LearnMoreAboutdexterity Synonymsfordexterity Synonyms adroitness, cleverness, finesse, sleight VisittheThesaurusforMore  ExamplesofdexterityinaSentence RussCellan,Ferguson'scoachatFreeport(NewYork)High,andRonPrince,hisformeroffensivelinecoachatVirginia,bothattributeFerguson'sdexterityandfootworktohisextensivemartialartstraining… —NunyoDemasio,SportsIllustrated,10Apr.2006 TheCarcanetvolumealsooffersitsreaderstheadvantageofseeingtheGermanoriginalsalongsidetheEnglish,enablingthemtoperceiveataglancehowmuchsympathyandlinguisticdexterityElliothasbroughttothedifficultbutrewardingtaskofintroducinganewgenerationofEnglishreaderstoHeine'stragicbutwonderfullyvigorousandvividlatepoetry. —S.S.Prawer,TimesLiterarySupplement,28Sept.-4Oct.1990 Butthemayorshowedconsiderablepoliticaldexterityinthedaysfollowingthefire,takingcaretodistancehimselffromon-sitedecisionswhileacceptingfullresponsibilityforthebombingitself.Hemadehimselfavailabletoreporters,metwithpeoplefromthefire-ravagedneighborhood,andwasgraciousenoughnottoblamesubordinates. —AmyWilentz,Time,27May1985 Thejobrequiresmanualdexterity. Hehasthedexterityneededtodealcardsquickly. Theamazingdexterityoftheacrobat. He'sateacherknownforhisimaginationandverbaldexterity. SeeMore RecentExamplesontheWeb Thisrequiresgoodeyesightandsomemanualdexterity. — Dr.KeithRoach,oregonlive,9Feb.2022 Thompsonneverhadthegreateststraight-linespeedorleap;hiseffectivenessonbothendsofthecourtcamefromfootwork,anticipation,somedexterity,andbothanintelligenceandabundanceofmovement. — MarkDeeks,Forbes,29Jan.2022 Thescenehasarhythmicdexterity,asthedevelopersvolleyforthopinionafteropinion. — AngelicaJadeBastién,Vulture,22Dec.2021 Thenine-holepegtestasamanualdexterityperformancemeasureformultiplesclerosis. — MikeBaker,ScientificAmerican,1Feb.2020 Yougetthrownintoreallyweirdsituations,soyourdexterityisgreat. — RandeeDawn,LosAngelesTimes,4Jan.2022 Thecombinationofphysicaldexterityandmentalskillisimpressive. — TonyBradley,Forbes,12Nov.2021 This2021-2022seasonisshapingupasamilitarylikeexerciseoflogistics,dexterityandscheduling. — NewYorkTimes,1Oct.2021 Thegrippysiliconepalmandthumbaccentsprovidemilddexterityandthepull-onloophelpstoo. — AdamChase,OutsideOnline,23Dec.2019 Theseexamplesentencesareselectedautomaticallyfromvariousonlinenewssourcestoreflectcurrentusageoftheword'dexterity.'ViewsexpressedintheexamplesdonotrepresenttheopinionofMerriam-Websteroritseditors.Sendusfeedback. SeeMore FirstKnownUseofdexterity 1518,inthemeaningdefinedatsense2 HistoryandEtymologyfordexterity MiddleFrenchorLatin;MiddleFrenchdexterité,fromLatindexteritat-,dexteritas,fromdexter—seedexterous LearnMoreAboutdexterity Sharedexterity PosttheDefinitionofdexteritytoFacebook SharetheDefinitionofdexterityonTwitter TimeTravelerfordexterity Thefirstknownuseofdexteritywas in1518 Seemorewordsfromthesameyear FromtheEditorsatMerriam-Webster TheLeftHandof(Supposed)Darkness TheLeftHandof(Supposed)Darkness On‘sinister,’‘dexterity,’‘gauche,’and‘adroit’ DictionaryEntriesNeardexterity dexterchiefpoint dexterity dexterous SeeMoreNearbyEntries  Statisticsfordexterity LastUpdated 17Feb2022 Look-upPopularity CitethisEntry “Dexterity.”Merriam-Webster.comDictionary,Merriam-Webster,https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dexterity.Accessed4Mar.2022. Style:MLA MLA Chicago APA Merriam-Webster MoreDefinitionsfordexterity dexterity noun dex·​ter·​i·​ty |\dek-ˈster-ə-tē \ pluraldexterities KidsDefinitionofdexterity 1 :skillandeaseintheuseofthehandsorbody 2 :theabilitytothinkandactquicklyandcleverly dexterity noun dex·​ter·​i·​ty |\dek-ˈster-ət-ē \ pluraldexterities Medical Definitionofdexterity 1 :readinessandgraceinphysicalactivity especially :skillandeaseinusingthehands 2 :mentalskillorquickness MorefromMerriam-Websterondexterity Nglish:TranslationofdexterityforSpanishSpeakers BritannicaEnglish:TranslationofdexterityforArabicSpeakers WORDOFTHEDAY askew SeeDefinitionsandExamples» GetWordoftheDaydailyemail! TestYourVocabulary NamethatThing:FlowerEdition Namethatflower amaryllis hydrangea chrysanthemum hyacinth Canyouspellthese10commonlymisspelledwords? TAKETHEQUIZ Adailychallengeforcrosswordfanatics. TAKETHEQUIZ SubscribetoAmerica'slargestdictionaryandgetthousandsmoredefinitionsandadvancedsearch—adfree! Merriam-Websterunabridged WordsatPlay 'Za'and9OtherWordstoHelpYouWinatSCRABBLE Thesecrettop10wordsexpertsusetowinatSCR... ACastof12AstrologicalWords It'swritteninthestars Whatdoes'yeet'mean? Tossingsomeknowledgeyourway TopBanana,Kingpin,andOtherNicknamesforImportantPeople Bigwigs,bigenchiladas,andbigshots AsktheEditors 'Everyday'vs.'EveryDay' Asimpletricktokeepthemseparate WhatIs'SemanticBleaching'? How'literally'canmean"figuratively" Literally Howtouseawordthat(literally)drivessomepe... IsSingular'They'aBetterChoice? Theawkwardcaseof'hisorher' WordGames ChallengingVocabularyQuizReturns! Notricks,justhardwordsyoumightencounterin... Takethequiz Eponyms:WordsNamedAfterPeople WastherereallyaMr.Shrapnel? Takethequiz SpellIt Canyouspellthese10commonlymisspelledwords? Takethequiz