neat
1 Americanadjective
-
neater,
comparative
-
neatest
superlative
-
in a pleasingly orderly and clean condition.
a neat room.
- Antonyms:
- sloppy
-
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 solution.
a neat scheme;
a neat solution.
- Synonyms:
- wonderful, well-planned
-
Slang. great; excellent; fine.
What a neat car!
-
clever, dexterous, or apt.
She gave a neat characterization of the old woman.
- Synonyms:
- adroit
- Antonyms:
- maladroit
-
(of liquid, especially liquor) straight.
- Antonyms:
- mixed
-
Building Trades.
-
(of cement) without sand or other aggregate.
-
(of plaster) without any admixture except hair or fiber.
-
-
net.
neat profits.
adverb
noun
-
neat
plural
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
-
(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
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Adjectives
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.
See Examples For:
They’ve shown their boys a path to success but each must find their own way, though having a doctor in the family while playing football is pretty neat.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2026
Filled with curiosity, the 36-year-old charity worker examined it - noting "really neat" handwriting for a child - and posted on her local Facebook community group on Thursday morning to track down the author.
From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2026
It’s a neat trick — even when Vance does it.
From Salon ● Sep. 20, 2026
Perpendicular to that, there’s a lunchtime slop-bowl corridor, offering Just Salad, Dig, Cava, and Sweetgreen in one neat little row.
From Slate ● Sep. 6, 2026
They were clothed for the hunt in scarlet coats, white trousers, and neat black caps.
From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood
I grew a little neater as I aged, especially during Covid, but was never what anyone would call fastidious.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 8, 2026
Roger Rose, from Burton Latimer, where Kettering's ground is, is repairing a previous "chicken wire" fence with neater plastic mesh.
From BBC ● Nov. 16, 2024
Using résumés always has kept the decision-making process neater.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 3, 2023
He was dressed in a suit and striped tie, with his once signature curly, unkempt hair cut into a neater trim.
From Reuters ● Oct. 3, 2023
“Wow, Kelly. Your room’s even neater than usual.”
From "George" by Alex Gino
Instead it was decided one big announcement would be the neatest option.
From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2026
Perhaps Honeck’s neatest trick was his ability to conjure lightness and amplitude at the same time.
From New York Times ● Apr. 14, 2024
The union drive was far from the neatest thing to roll off Chipotle’s famous burrito assembly line.
From Slate ● Sep. 8, 2022
And, here’s the neatest narrative trick of all: As Christie characteristically did, de Gramont hides the solution to the mystery of “The Christie Affair” in plain sight.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 2, 2022
And underneath each picture, I’ve written our names in my neatest handwriting.
From "Merci Suárez Changes Gears" by Meg Medina
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.
