neat

¹

[ neet ]

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. Slang. great; excellent; fine:

   What a neat car!

6. clever, dexterous, or apt:

   She gave a neat characterization of the old woman.

   Synonyms: adroit

   Antonyms: maladroit

7. (of liquid, especially liquor) straight ( def 16 ).

   Synonyms: pure, unmixed

   Antonyms: mixed

8. Building Trades.
   1. (of cement) without sand or other aggregate.
   2. (of plaster) without any admixture except hair or fiber.
9. net:

   neat profits.

adverb

1. Informal. neatly.

neat

²

[ neet ]

noun

, plural neat.

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

neat

¹

/ niːt /

noun

1. archaic.
   a domestic bovine animal

neat

²

/ niːt /

adjective

1. clean, tidy, and orderly
2. liking or insisting on order and cleanliness; fastidious
3. smoothly or competently done; efficient

   a neat job

4. pat or slick

   his excuse was suspiciously neat

5. (of alcoholic drinks) without added water, lemonade, etc; undiluted
6. See net
   a less common word for net 2

   neat profits

7. slang.
   good; pleasing; admirable

Derived Forms

• ˈneatly, adverb
• ˈneatness, noun

Other Words From

• neatly adverb
• neatness noun

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”

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

Example Sentences

On the table in front of him, he had arrayed the tools of his trade in a neat stack of yellow folders.

From TIme

The neatest thing about Wasm is compiling down to the binary specification you can code web applications using virtually any language, not just JavaScript.

From Search Engine Land

A hamper with a lid will help keep your bathroom looking neat and tidy.

From Washington Post

The more crinkled the top is, the nicer it will look once baked, so don’t worry about making this look neat.

From Washington Post

True to his word, the film does wrap a neat, narrative question mark around Cole’s existence that may be enough of a carrot to lead “Kombat” fans to the end of the story.

From Washington Post

In a neat line, his agent, beginning a bidding war, promised: “Michiko Kakutani will flip for this.”

From The Daily Beast

When Little Snow White entered, she found everything tiny, but dainty and neat.

From The Daily Beast

In a few neat sentences, Perry turns the idea of moral obligation into moral relativism.

From The Daily Beast

The holes of recently removed stiches traveled neat as rail ties along his stomach.

From The Daily Beast

The soldiers in 2nd Platoon, Blackfoot Company discovered his rifle, helmet, body armor and web gear in a neat stack.

From The Daily Beast

If they'd been white men I would probably have been curled in a neat heap within two hundred yards.

From Project Gutenberg

Frulein Timm belongs to the single sisterhood, but is one of the fresh and placid kind, and as neat as wax.

From Project Gutenberg

In the yard, which was kept scrupulously neat, were flowers and plants of every description which flourishes in South Louisiana.

From Project Gutenberg

Even with his tunic ripped down the front, he gave the impression of making it his life business to be neat.

From Project Gutenberg

But she looked neat and clean, and she certainly was determined not to enter the automobile if she could help it.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• accurate
• elegant
• immaculate
• orderly
• precise
• sleek
• slick
• smart
• spotless
• tidy
• well-kept