Nigh is often used in fixed expressions to show something is nearly happening or very close. This usage mainly appears in poetry or formal speech.
Judgment day is nigh.
Summer is nigh; prepare yourself.
As a verb, nigh means to come near or approach something. This is very rare and mostly found in old literature or poetry.
Darkness nighs upon the town.
The enemy nighed the castle walls.
This meaning highlights the use of nigh in historical or literary texts to mean close or near, focusing on either time or space.
The battle was nigh, and soldiers waited.
The village lies nigh the old forest.
