gimlet

[ gim-lit ]

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.

verb (used with object)

1. to pierce with or as if with a gimlet.
2. Also gim·blet [] Nautical. to rotate (a suspended anchor) to a desired position.

adjective

1. able to penetrate or bore through.

gimlet

/ 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

verb

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

adjective

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

Other Words From

• gimlet·y adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of gimlet¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of gimlet¹

C15: from Old French guimbelet, of Germanic origin, see wimble

Example Sentences

Watching it all with a gimlet eye, Mary — his old friend who’s still helplessly in love with him — takes Frank to task for sacrificing his theatrical partnership with Charley for hollow Hollywood success.

From Los Angeles Times

He’s also the bartender who introduced me to what became my signature cocktail, the vodka gimlet.

From Salon

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

From Seattle Times

The Southern Poverty Law Center, the nation’s leading civil rights watchdog, has labeled Moms for Liberty “extremist,” a label that made headlines and cast a gimlet eye on the organization’s mom-and-apple-pie persona.

From Salon

After having my first cucumber gimlet made with fresh lime — drinking a pedestrian rusty vodka and cranberry or a God awful screwdriver seemed completely ridiculous.

From Salon