dexterous
adjective
Did you know?
If you believe dexterous to be on the right side of etymological history, well, right on. Dexterous comes from the Latin word dexter, meaning "on the right side." Since most people are right-handed, and therefore do things more easily with their right hand, dexter developed the additional sense of "skillful." English speakers crafted dexterous from dexter and have been using the resulting adjective for anyone who is skillful—in either a physical or mental capacity—since at least the early 1600s. (The noun dexterity arrived a bit earlier, influenced both by Latin and the Middle French word dexterité). The adjective ambidextrous, which combines dexter with the Latin prefix ambi-, meaning "both," describes one who is able to use both hands in an equally skillful way. With so many handy words at its disposal, the English language itself is pretty dexterous, amirite?
Examples of dexterous in a Sentence
Mark Eller, Outside Online, 15 Nov. 2024
The session, which will include NASA dexterous robotics team leader Shaun Azimi, will be 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Sunday at the JW Marriott.
—Kara Carlson, Austin American-Statesman, 7 Mar. 2024
Since he was fired from Fox News, Carlson has cobbled together a successful, dexterous career tweeting, podcasting, and speechifying.
—Hannah Jocelyn, The New Yorker, 1 Nov. 2024
But the company already has a number of humanoids in its robot ranks, has developed a dexterous human-like hand, and become quite adept at showing off its creations in fun promo videos.
—Paul Ridden, New Atlas, 15 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for dexterous 
Dictionary Entries Near dexterous
Cite this Entry
“Dexterous.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dexterous. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.
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