- nice
- niceW2S1 [naıs] adj▬▬▬▬▬▬▬1¦(good)¦2¦(friendly)¦3¦(something you want)¦4 it's nice to know (that)5 have a nice day!6 nice to meet you7 (it's been) nice meeting/talking to you8¦(not nice)¦9 nice try10 nice one!11 be (as) nice as pie12 nice work if you can get it13¦(detail)¦14¦(respectable)¦15 nice ... shame about the ...▬▬▬▬▬▬▬[Date: 1200-1300; : Old French; Origin: 'stupid', from Latin nescius 'lacking knowledge', from nescire 'not to know']1.) ¦(GOOD)¦pleasant, attractive, or enjoyable▪ They've got a very nice house.▪ Did you have a nice time?▪ It's such a nice day (=good weather) , why not go for a swim?▪ What a nice surprise !look/taste/smell nice▪ You look nice in that suit.▪ Mm, something smells nice!nice big/new/long etc▪ a nice long holiday▪ a nice new carnice and warm/clean/easy/quiet etc▪ The house seemed nice and tidy.▪ One of the nice things about Christmas is having all the family together.2.) ¦(FRIENDLY)¦friendly, kind, or polite▪ Dave's a really nice guy.▪ That's not a very nice thing to say about your sister!nice about▪ Tim spilt wine all over the sofa, but Martha was very nice about it.nice to▪ They were very nice to me while I was ill.it is nice of sb (to do sth)▪ It was nice of you to help.▪ He told me, in the nicest possible way , that I was interfering too much.3.) ¦(SOMETHING YOU WANT)¦used to say what you like or what you think would be good or useful▪ It's quite nice to live so close to work.it is nice to do sth▪ It would be nice to have a break.that'd be nice(=used to accept an offer or agree with a suggestion)▪ 'Would you like a cup of coffee?' 'Yes, that'd be nice.'▪ I thought it would be a nice idea to send them some flowers.▪ It would be nice if you could let us know in advance.4.) spoken it's nice to know (that)used to mean that you feel happier when you know something▪ I still haven't heard any news - it would be nice to know what's happening.▪ It's nice to know that there's someone nearby if she needs help.5.) spoken have a nice day!AmE used to say goodbye to someone, especially to customers in shops and restaurants when they are leaving6.) spoken nice to meet youused as a friendly greeting when you meet someone for the first time▪ Hello. It's nice to meet you at last.7.) spoken (it's been) nice meeting/talking to youused when you say goodbye to someone you have met for the first time8.) spoken ¦(NOT NICE)¦BrE used in a humorous or angry way when you really think that something or someone is not at all good or pleasant▪ That's a nice way to treat a friend, I must say!▪ Well, we're in a nice mess now.9.) spoken nice tryused when someone has made a guess or suggestion, or has attempted to do something, to say that it is good, but not quite correct or successful▪ 'We could phone Mark to come and pick us up.' 'Nice try, Clive, but we haven't got his number.'10.) spoken nice one!BrE used when someone has just said or done something clever, amusing, or helpful▪ 'Dad said he'd help pay for it.' 'Nice one!'11.) be (as) nice as pieBrE if someone is as nice as pie, they are not angry with you when you were expecting them to be12.) nice work if you can get itBrE used humorously to say that someone has a very easy or enjoyable job, especially one which you would like to do13.) ¦(DETAIL)¦formal involving a very small difference or detail▪ a nice point of law14.) ¦(RESPECTABLE)¦old-fashioned having high standards of moral and social behaviour▪ What's a nice girl like you doing in a place like this?15.) nice ... shame about the ...BrE used when saying that part of something is good or well done, but a more important part is bad or badly done▪ Nice video, shame about the song.>niceness n [U]▪ The first thing you noticed about him was his niceness.▬▬▬▬▬▬▬HINT sense 1You can use nice and followed by another adjective after be The weather was nice and warm. But before a noun you must leave out 'and' a nice hot (NOT nice and hot) drinkWORD FOCUS: niceperson: lovely, pleasant, charming, sweet, adorablething/place/activity/time: lovely, pleasant, delightful▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
Dictionary of contemporary English. 2013.
