gimlet

American  

[gim-lit] / ˈgɪm lɪt /

noun

1. a small tool for boring holes, consisting of a shaft with a pointed screw at one end and a handle perpendicular to the shaft at the other.

2. a cocktail made with gin or vodka, sweetened lime juice, and sometimes soda water.

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verb (used with object)

1. to pierce with or as if with a gimlet.

2. Nautical. Also gimblet to rotate (a suspended anchor) to a desired position.

adjective

1. able to penetrate or bore through.

gimlet British  

/ ˈɡɪmlɪt /

noun

1. a small hand tool consisting of a pointed spiral tip attached at right angles to a handle, used for boring small holes in wood

2. a cocktail consisting of half gin or vodka and half lime juice

3. a eucalyptus of W Australia having a twisted bole

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verb

1. (tr) to make holes in (wood) using a gimlet

adjective

1. penetrating; piercing (esp in the phrase gimlet-eyed )

Other Word Forms

• gimlety adjective

Etymology

Origin of gimlet

1375–1425; late Middle English < Old French guimbelet < Germanic; compare Middle Dutch wimmel wimble

Example Sentences

But the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland keeps a gimlet eye on inflation data, and it has some estimates.

From MarketWatch • Nov. 19, 2025

No detail is too small for Caro’s gimlet eye, which is currently trained on finishing Volume 5.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 14, 2025

His Napoleon views the world with a gimlet eye and firmly compressed lips.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 22, 2023

If you order a gimlet and they offer you, Roses, then you should leave the bar, maybe even the neighborhood, because that is ridiculous as it is gross.

From Salon • May 8, 2023

However, Dad had a gimlet eye and a terrible swift sword.

From "Cheaper by the Dozen" by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey