1
: any of the minor divinities of nature in classical mythology represented as beautiful maidens dwelling in the mountains, forests, trees, and waters
2
: girl
Fair nymphs, and well-dressed youths around her shone …—
Alexander Pope
Alexander Pope3
: any of various immature insects
especially
: a larva of an insect (such as a grasshopper, true bug, or mayfly) with incomplete (see incomplete sense 3) metamorphosis (see metamorphosis sense 2) that differs from the imago (see imago sense 1) especially in size and in its incompletely developed wings and genitalia
Examples of nymph in a Sentence
she bought the book of fairy tales for the beautiful engravings of nymphs and fairies featured between the stories
the neighborhood nymphs were gathered at the local pizza parlor
Recent Examples on the Web
Sacramento County health inspectors closed four restaurants this week, including Carmichael’s Royal Cuisine, where a live nymph cockroach was found crawling on the salt and pepper shakers.
—Sacbee.com, 16 May 2026
August is when the season begins to ebb, with fewer nymphs around and eggs hatching larvae that are largely free of diseases.
—Finch Walker, USA Today, 15 May 2026
Dead drifting a Pat’s Rubberlegs or another heavy stonefly nymph in the riffles and deep runs can be deadly around this time.
—Dac Collins, Outdoor Life, 14 May 2026
Loosely based on the legends of the Nang Mai, Thailand’s mythical forest nymphs, the film is scripted by Patrick Graham, the writer behind Netflix’s Indian horror series Ghoul and Betaal, based on a concept by Songsak Mongkolthong (Graveyard Horror), who is also attached to direct.
—Liz Shackleton, Deadline, 13 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for nymph
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Sacbee.com, 16 May 2026
August is when the season begins to ebb, with fewer nymphs around and eggs hatching larvae that are largely free of diseases.
—Finch Walker, USA Today, 15 May 2026
Dead drifting a Pat’s Rubberlegs or another heavy stonefly nymph in the riffles and deep runs can be deadly around this time.
—Dac Collins, Outdoor Life, 14 May 2026
Loosely based on the legends of the Nang Mai, Thailand’s mythical forest nymphs, the film is scripted by Patrick Graham, the writer behind Netflix’s Indian horror series Ghoul and Betaal, based on a concept by Songsak Mongkolthong (Graveyard Horror), who is also attached to direct.
—Liz Shackleton, Deadline, 13 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for nymph
Cite this Entry
“Nymph.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nymph. Accessed 20 May. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
nymph
noun1
: one of many goddesses in old legends represented as beautiful young girls living in mountains, forests, meadows, and waters
2
: any of various immature insects
especially
: an immature insect (as a dragonfly or grasshopper) that differs from the adult chiefly in the size of the body and in its incompletely developed wings
Medical Definition
nymph
noun1
: any of various hemimetabolous insects in an immature stage and especially a late larva (as of a true bug) in which rudiments of the wings and genitalia are present
broadly
: any insect larva that differs chiefly in size and degree of differentiation from the imago
2
: a mite or tick in the first eight-legged form that immediately follows the last larval molt
3
: a nymphal stage in the life cycle of an insect or acarid
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