neat

[ neet ]

/ nit /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR neat ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective, neat·er, neat·est.

in a pleasingly orderly and clean condition: a neat room.

habitually orderly and clean in appearance or habits: a neat person.

of a simple, pleasing appearance, style, design, etc.: a neat cottage.

cleverly effective in character or execution: a neat scheme; a neat solution.

Slang. great; wonderful; fine: What a neat car!

clever, dexterous, or apt: She gave a neat characterization of the old woman.

straight(def 33).

Building Trades.

(of cement) without sand or other aggregate.
(of plaster) without any admixture except hair or fiber.

net: neat profits.

adverb

Informal. neatly.

Nearby words

nearside, nearsighted, nearsightedly, nearsightedness, nearthrosis, neat, neat line, neat's-foot oil, neaten, neath, neath port talbot

Origin of neat

1300–50; Middle English net spruce, trim, clean < Middle French < Latin nitidus shining, polished, handsome, spruce, equivalent to nit(ēre) to shine + -idus -id⁴

SYNONYMS FOR neat

1 spruce, smart.

4 finished, well-planned.

6 adroit.

7 unmixed, pure.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR neat ON THESAURUS.COM

ANTONYMS FOR neat

1 sloppy.

6 maladroit.

7 mixed.

SEE MORE ANTONYMS FOR neat ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formsneat·ly, adverbneat·ness, noun

Definition for neat (2 of 2)

neat

[ neet ]

/ nit /

noun, plural neat.

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

Origin of neat

before 900; Middle English neet, Old English nēat, cognate with Old Norse naut, Middle Dutch noot; akin to Old English nēotan to use, possess

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for neat

In a neat line, his agent, beginning a bidding war, promised: “Michiko Kakutani will flip for this.”
What On Earth Is ‘The Affair’ About? Season One’s Baffling Finale|Tim Teeman|December 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The soldiers in 2nd Platoon, Blackfoot Company discovered his rifle, helmet, body armor and web gear in a neat stack.
We Lost Soldiers in the Hunt for Bergdahl, a Guy Who Walked Off in the Dead of Night|Nathan Bradley Bethea|June 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In it he arrives at (as well as departs from; neat feat) the startling notion of the Great War as one that was pre-mourned.
Geoff Dyer at Sea: Unmoored but on Target|Melissa Holbrook Pierson|May 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Senator Paul also scorned “labels” and the tendency to corral politicians and thinkers into neat, ideological camps.
Is Rand Paul a Secret Hawk? Or Maybe Not a Total Dove?|James Kirchick|May 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST

She brings her own tea bags in a neat Ziploc bag, and I am mildly awed at her preparedness and chutzpah.
Marlo Thomas Says Girls Should Feel Free to Be Like Hannah Horvath|Emily Shire|April 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A great part of our comfort within doors depends upon our apartments being kept clean and neat.
An Introduction to Entomology: Vol. I (of 4)|William Kirby
I should like you to be neat when Dr. Renton arrives, and he will probably have tea with me.
Dimbie and I--and Amelia|Mabel Barnes-Grundy
No conventional and hideous hat or bonnet disfigures the neat outline of their heads.
A War-time Journal, Germany 1914 and German Travel Notes|Harriet Julia Jephson
Elvin stared in disbelief at the neat square of tropical jungle rising cleanly in the heart of San Benedicto.
Adolescents Only|Irving E. Cox
Otoyo and Judy and Molly folded the gauze into the neat little six-inch squares.
Molly Brown's College Friends|Nell Speed

British Dictionary definitions for neat (1 of 2)

neat

/ (niːt) /

adjective

clean, tidy, and orderly

liking or insisting on order and cleanliness; fastidious

smoothly or competently done; efficienta neat job

pat or slickhis excuse was suspiciously neat

(of alcoholic drinks) without added water, lemonade, etc; undiluted

a less common word for net 2 neat profits

slang, mainly US and Canadian good; pleasing; admirable

Derived Formsneatly, adverbneatness, noun

Word Origin for neat

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

British Dictionary definitions for neat (2 of 2)

neat

/ (niːt) /

noun plural neat

archaic, or dialect a domestic bovine animal

Word Origin for neat

Old English neat

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

Word Origin and History for neat (1 of 2)

neat

adj.

1540s, "clean, free from dirt," from Anglo-French neit, Middle French net "clear, pure" (12c.), from Latin nitidus "well-favored, elegant, trim," literally "gleaming," from nitere "to shine," from PIE root *nei- "to shine" (cf. Middle Irish niam "gleam, splendor," niamda "shining;" Old Irish noib "holy," niab "strength;" Welsh nwyfiant "gleam, splendor").

Meaning "inclined to be tidy" is from 1570s. Of liquor, "straight," c.1800, from meaning "unadulterated" (of wine), which is first attested 1570s. Informal sense of "very good" first recorded 1934 in American English; variant neato is teenager slang, first recorded 1968. Related: Neatly; neatness.

Word Origin and History for neat (1 of 2)

neat

"ox, bullock, cow," Old English neat "ox, beast, animal," from Proto-Germanic *nautam "thing of value, possession" (cf. Old Frisian nat, Middle Dutch noot, Old High German noz, Old Norse naut), from PIE root *neud- "to make use of, enjoy."

neat

adjective, neat·er, neat·est.

adverb

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Origin of neat

Definition for neat (2 of 2)

neat

noun, plural neat.

Origin of neat

Examples from the Web for neat

British Dictionary definitions for neat (1 of 2)

neat

adjective

Word Origin for neat

British Dictionary definitions for neat (2 of 2)

neat

noun plural neat

Word Origin for neat

Word Origin and History for neat (1 of 2)

neat

Word Origin and History for neat (1 of 2)

neat