# nice

/ˈnaɪs/ (US)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/nice
Updated: 2026-06-19

## Senses

### 1. pleasant or enjoyable

adjective · CEFR A1

pleasant, enjoyable, or satisfactory.

For teachers: denoting a general quality of being pleasant, agreeable, or satisfactory.

- We had a nice day at the beach despite the wind.
- The hotel provided a nice balance of luxury and comfort, ensuring that every guest felt welcomed without being overwhelmed by formality.

### 2. kind or friendly

adjective · CEFR A1

kind, friendly, or polite.

For teachers: describing a person who is kind, amiable, or socially agreeable.

- Our new neighbour is very nice and even helped us move our boxes.
- She was known for being exceptionally nice to junior staff, often taking the time to mentor them during her lunch breaks.

### 3. precise or subtle

adjective · CEFR C1 · Formal · Literary

showing or needing great care, detail, or a small difference.

For teachers: requiring or characterized by great precision, delicacy, or subtle discernment.

- There is a nice distinction between being confident and being arrogant.
- The legal argument relied on a nice point of law regarding the exact timing of the contract's expiration.

Usage: Often used in the phrase 'a nice distinction' or 'a nice point'.

### 5. computer priority

verb · CEFR C2 · Technical

to change how much of a computer's power a program uses.

For teachers: to invoke a utility that changes the priority level of a process in a multitasking operating system.

- You should nice that background task so it doesn't slow down your game.
- The administrator decided to nice the data-heavy indexing process to ensure the web server remained responsive to user requests.

Usage: Usually used as a transitive verb in Unix-like environments.

## Examples

- It is a nice day for a walk.
- The new neighbors seem very nice and even brought us some cookies yesterday.
- While the hotel room was small, it had a nice view of the harbor that made the stay quite enjoyable despite the lack of space.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.