nice
Pronunciation: /nʌɪs/
adjective
- 1giving pleasure or satisfaction; pleasant or attractive: we had a very nice time
- (of a person) good-natured; kind: he’s a nicer man than Mark Joe had been very nice to her
- ironic not good; unpleasant: that’s a nice way to come into my kitchen—no greeting!
Phrases
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make nice (or nice-nice)
- North American informal be pleasant or polite to someone, typically in a hypocritical way: the seat next him was empty, so he wasn’t required to make nice with a stranger
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nice and ——
- satisfactorily in terms of the quality described: it’s nice and warm in here
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nice one
- British informal used to express approval: thunderous applause and cries of ‘Nice one!’
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nice to meet you
- a polite formula used on being introduced to someone.
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nice work
- British informal used to express approval of a task well done: ‘You did a good job today—nice work, James.’
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nice work if you can get it
- informal used to express envy of what is perceived to be another person’s more favourable situation, which they seem to have attained with little effort: the princess was on her way to some lavish dinner—nice work if you can get it, I thought
Origin:
Middle English (in the sense 'stupid'): from Old French, from Latin nescius 'ignorant', from nescire 'not know'. Other early senses included 'coy, reserved', giving rise to 'fastidious, scrupulous': this led both to the sense 'fine, subtle' (regarded by some as the ‘correct’ sense), and to the main current senses