Dictionary.com | Meanings & Definitions of English Words (original) (raw)

View synonyms for neat

adjective

, neat·er, neat·est.

1. in a pleasingly orderly and clean condition:
   a neat room.
   Synonyms: smart, spruce
   Antonyms: sloppy
2. habitually orderly and clean in appearance or habits:
   a neat person.
3. of a simple, pleasing appearance, style, design, etc.:
   a neat cottage.
4. cleverly effective in character or execution:
   a neat solution.
   a neat scheme;
   a neat solution.
   Synonyms: well-planned, wonderful
5. What a neat car!
6. clever, dexterous, or apt:
   She gave a neat characterization of the old woman.
   Synonyms: adroit
   Antonyms: maladroit
7. Synonyms: pure, unmixed
   Antonyms: mixed
8. 1. (of cement) without sand or other aggregate.
   2. (of plaster) without any admixture except hair or fiber.
9. neat profits.

adverb

1. an animal of the genus
   Bos;
   a bovine, as a cow or ox.

/ niːt /

adjective

1. liking or insisting on order and cleanliness; fastidious
2. smoothly or competently done; efficient
   a neat job
3. his excuse was suspiciously neat
4. (of alcoholic drinks) without added water, lemonade, etc; undiluted
5. a less common word for net 2
   neat profits
6. slang.
   good; pleasing; admirable

Discover More

Derived Forms

• ˈneatly, adverb
• ˈneatness, noun

Discover More

Other Words From

• neatly adverb
• neatness noun

Discover More

Word History and Origins

Origin of neat1

First recorded in

1300–50; Middle English net “spruce, trim, clean,” from Middle French, from Latin nitidus “shining, polished, handsome, spruce,” equivalent to nit(ēre) “to shine” + -idus adjective suffix; -id 4

Origin of neat2

First recorded

before 900; Middle English net, nete, nette, Old English nēat, cognate with Old Norse naut, Middle Dutch noot; akin to Old English nēotan “to use, possess”

Discover More

Word History and Origins

Origin of neat1

Old English neat

Origin of neat2

C16: from Old French net, from Latin nitidus clean, shining, from nitēre to shine; related to Middle Irish niam beauty, brightness, Old Persian naiba- beautiful

Discover More

Example Sentences

They lie in neat rows of Commonwealth war graves in both the Roman Catholic church cemetery and the Church of Ireland cemetery in Irvinestown.

He will sit deep when required and push high when he can; will play neat possession football in some fixtures and tell his players to hit longer diagonals out to the wide men in others.

"The better I get it neat and tidy, the better I cope - not just with my disability, but also the mental illness and the abuse that underlies it."

A small, neat, quietly authoritative figure in a black polo neck.

His first came from a neat swivel and finish two minutes into the second half before he capitalised on Wout Faes' error to nod over a stranded Mads Hermansen on the hour.