tidy
neat, orderly, or trim, as in appearance or dress: a tidy room;a tidy person.
clearly organized and systematic: a tidy mind;a tidy way of working.
tolerably good; acceptable: They worked out a tidy arrangement agreeable to all.
fairly large; considerable: a tidy sum.
to make tidy or neat (often followed by up).
any of various articles for keeping things tidy, as a box having small drawers and compartments.
an antimacassar.
Origin of tidy
1Opposites for tidy
Other words from tidy
- ti·di·ly, adverb
- ti·di·ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use tidy in a sentence
Eukaryotic cells — like those in animals and plants — use organelles to keep themselves tidy.
All of them came with an origin story, the name and location of the farm where the cacao was grown, or the brand of sustainable and fair trade chocolate used to make the candies and bonbons tucked into the tidy little box.
This Valentine’s Day, reach for a better box of chocolates | Daniela Galarza | January 31, 2021 | Washington PostWe’ve got broken plates to thank for this company, as, in 1876 a couple who sold glassware developed a carpet sweeper to keep the floor of their store tidy.
Best cordless vacuum: Suck up debris without getting yourself tangled | Charlotte Marcus | January 19, 2021 | Popular-ScienceWe tend to make much of resolutions as the New Year rolls around—humans have been doing so for 4,000 years—but distilling the prospect of next year into a few tidy affirmations won’t help you realize that vision.
A goal with a plan beats a resolution every day of the year | Phoebe Gavin | December 29, 2020 | QuartzBy combining a detergent pump with a ventilated sponge holder, OXO presents a tidier way to tidy up.
The 8 most helpful new home products of 2020 | By Sandra Gutierrez G. and John Kennedy | December 3, 2020 | Popular-Science
He constructs, but plays at destruction; Friedman destroys but presents it as tidying up.
As I was tidying up the draft and compiling all my blocked plotlines for her, something unexpected happened.
A Mathematically Impossible Novel: Manil Suri Explains “The City of Devi” | Manil Suri | March 15, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTOnce he finds out he is going to be a father, “I began tidying up the house… I had my glasses adjusted.”
If you wouldn't mind tidying up, some day—I left my papers in a deuce of a mess.
Jaffery | William J. LockeTidying means removing dirt and litter, and putting each thing in the place where it belongs.
The Library of Work and Play: Housekeeping | Elizabeth Hale GilmanWe were busier than usual that night, reckoning stores, tidying lockers, and securing movables.
The Riddle of the Sands | Erskine ChildersShe busied herself about the room, dusting here and tidying there, and anon throwing a glance at me to see if I needed anything.
Richard Carvel, Complete | Winston ChurchillSo she learned a good deal about cooking, and helped regularly with the dishesand with the supper-getting and tidying.
Winona of the Camp Fire | Margaret Widdemer
British Dictionary definitions for tidy
/ (ˈtaɪdɪ) /
characterized by or indicating neatness and order
informal considerable: a tidy sum of money
(when intr, usually foll by up) to put (things) in order; neaten
a small container in which odds and ends are kept
sink tidy a container with holes in the bottom, kept in the sink to retain rubbish that might clog the plug hole
mainly US and Canadian an ornamental protective covering for the back or arms of a chair
Origin of tidy
1Derived forms of tidy
- tidily, adverb
- tidiness, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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