neat
1 Americanadjective
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in a pleasingly orderly and clean condition.
a neat room.
- Antonyms:
- sloppy
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habitually orderly and clean in appearance or habits.
a neat person.
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of a simple, pleasing appearance, style, design, etc..
a neat cottage.
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cleverly effective in character or execution: a neat solution.
a neat scheme;
a neat solution.
- Synonyms:
- wonderful, well-planned
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Slang. great; excellent; fine.
What a neat car!
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clever, dexterous, or apt.
She gave a neat characterization of the old woman.
- Synonyms:
- adroit
- Antonyms:
- maladroit
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(of liquid, especially liquor) straight.
- Antonyms:
- mixed
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Building Trades.
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(of cement) without sand or other aggregate.
-
(of plaster) without any admixture except hair or fiber.
-
-
net.
neat profits.
adverb
noun
adjective
-
clean, tidy, and orderly
-
liking or insisting on order and cleanliness; fastidious
-
smoothly or competently done; efficient
a neat job
-
pat or slick
his excuse was suspiciously neat
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(of alcoholic drinks) without added water, lemonade, etc; undiluted
-
a less common word for net 2
neat profits
-
slang good; pleasing; admirable
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
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; see -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”
Explanation
If you're neat, you're clean and tidy. A neat roommate is usually easier to live with than a sloppy one. And a neat mustache is probably better than a big bushy one. Your neat handwriting might have made you the pride of your third-grade teacher, and your neat hairstyle will pass muster with your ballet instructor (who insists on a very tidy bun on every dancer's head). You can also use the word neat to mean "great," "cool," or "super." Neat comes from the Old French net, "clear or pure," from the Latin nitidus, "gleaming." Since the 1930s, it's also meant "very good."
Vocabulary lists containing neat
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Neat bows are tied — though at least one has been left loose in hopes, according to my own predictive analysis, of a second season.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 26, 2025
Neat build-up play after they pinched possession allowed Lucas Robertone to slip in the unmarked Ramazani and his low effort wrong-footed Kepa Arrizabalaga.
From BBC • Jan. 21, 2024
Neat tile roofs shattered as they pancaked into a jumble.
From Seattle Times • Jul. 11, 2023
Neat stacks of toys, including baseball bats and a bucket of baseballs, are usually arrayed on the front porch of the governor’s mansion in Tallahassee, visitors say.
From New York Times • Jun. 18, 2023
Neat by nature, she would leave the house tidy.
From "Johnny Tremain" by Esther Hoskins Forbes
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
