elegant adj. [common; from mathematical usage] Combining simplicity, power, and a certain ineffable grace of design. Higher praise than clever , winning , or even cuspy. The French aviator, adventurer, and author Antoine de Saint-Exupry, probably best known for his classic children's book The Little Prince , was also an aircraft designer. He gave us perhaps the best definition of engineering elegance when he said A designer knows he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.