Definition
1. able to move quickly and easily
2. able to think quickly, solve problems, and have new ideas
3. in business, relating to or involving a way of managing projects based on dividing the work into a series of small tasks and using regular feedback at each stage to make changes to how work in later stages is done
Origin and usage
The word agile comes from the Latin ‘agere’ meaning ‘to keep in movement or set in motion’ and from the related adjective ‘agilis’ meaning ‘quick and nimble’. Agile first appeared in late Middle English sometime in the 1580s and was directly derived from the French.
Examples
Agile is an adjective that refers to being quick, nimble or easily adaptable. Athletes, dancers, acrobats or others who use their physicality can all be described as agile. In business, the word agile can also be used to describe departments or companies that are good at managing complex projects by breaking them up into smaller, more measurable parts.
In some instances, animals can also be described as agile. Horses, gazelles, cats … and pigs?
Video footage recently recorded at Malta airport shows a particularly agile black pig running around outside the airport, weaving and dodging away from two police officers attempting to capture it.
The video, which was posted on social media last week, shows two airport policemen chasing and trying to corner the pig so it could be returned to its rightful home safely. However, the animal proved a worthy adversary, performing an agile escape manoeuvre by slipping between a pole and a potted plant and out to the street as a gathering crowd looked on.
Similar words
fast, swift, quick
View the full definition in the Macmillan Dictionary.
