deft

Valid in Scrabble

Scrabble points
8
Words With Friends
8
Letters
4
Pronunciation
/dɛft/(UK)

Definition of deft

1 sense · 1 part of speech · etymology included

adj

  1. Quick and neat in action; skillful.
    “He assembled it in one fluid, deft motion.”
    “Alvarez then got on the scoresheet after the hosts carved open the Huddersfield defence with some intricate passing before the Argentina forward's deft finish rolled into the net.”

Definitions from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA.

Etymology

From Middle English defte, daft (“gentle”), from Old English dæfte (“mild, gentle, meek”), from Proto-West Germanic *daftī (“fitting, suitable”), derived from *dabaną (“to be suitable”). Near cognates include Gothic 𐌲𐌰𐌳𐍉𐍆𐍃 (gadōfs, “suitable”), West Frisian deftich (“distinguished”), Dutch deftig (“distinguished”), German deftig (“coarse”). Further cognates include Russian добро (dobro, “wealth, good”) and Latin faber (“craftsman; skillful”). Doublet of daft.

Words you can make from deft

11 playable · top: DEF (7 pts)

Best play def 7 points

3-letter words

4 words

2-letter words

6 words

Find your best play with deft

See every word you can make from a set of letters that includes deft, or browse word lists you can mine for high-scoring plays.