neat
1in 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.
clever, dexterous, or apt: She gave a neat characterization of the old woman.
(of liquid, especially liquor) straight (def. 16).
Building Trades.
(of cement) without sand or other aggregate.
(of plaster) without any admixture except hair or fiber.
net: neat profits.
Informal. neatly.
Origin of neat
1Other words for neat
Opposites for neat
Other words from neat
- neatly, adverb
- neatness, noun
Other definitions for neat (2 of 2)
an animal of the genus Bos; a bovine, as a cow or ox.
Origin of neat
2Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use neat in a sentence
This won’t be a problem is you have a full beard and are just looking to trim things to a suitable state of neat.
Best electric shaver: Get a smooth shave with our picks | Jeremy Helligar | December 18, 2020 | Popular-ScienceTechnology is often central in these schemes—it appears as a dynamic and seemingly unstoppable force, providing a neat solution to society’s problems.
Future Cities: New Challenges Mean We Need to Reimagine the Look of Urban Landscapes | Nick Dunn | December 18, 2020 | Singularity Hub“The more time you spend observing birds and being outside actively looking for them, the better you’ll get and the higher your chances of seeing something really neat,” he added.
A concise guide to birding in your own backyard | Erin E. Williams | December 11, 2020 | Washington PostDeanna Curtis, curator of woody plants at the New York Botanical Garden, recommends another variety, Atrovirens, which is more contained, with a neater branch architecture.
Winter wonders: Conifers revive the sleeping garden. But remember, less is more. | Adrian Higgins | December 2, 2020 | Washington PostFor two decades, our image of who this woman is has been directed by Steven Soderbergh into a neat, 130 minute story with a happy ending.
Erin Brockovich has given up on the federal government saving the environment | Nicole Goodkind | September 25, 2020 | Fortune
However…the failure to send a distress call still undermines the neatness of this picture.
Mere hastiness or slovenliness of work is not identical with the effect of inability to achieve mechanical neatness.
Antonio Stradivari | Horace William PetherickThe Park is very pretty, and all the buildings round about it have an air of neatness—almost of stateliness.
Little Travels and Roadside Sketches | William Makepeace ThackerayNever were such patterns of neatness seen as these old ladies and their houses.
Little Travels and Roadside Sketches | William Makepeace ThackerayIf you are not quite certain of the line between neatness and the reverse, be over-scrupulous about your under garments.
The Ladies' Book of Etiquette, and Manual of Politeness | Florence HartleyNo translation can give the elegant neatness of his language.
British Dictionary definitions for neat (1 of 2)
/ (niːt) /
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, mainly US and Canadian good; pleasing; admirable
Origin of neat
1Derived forms of neat
- neatly, adverb
- neatness, noun
British Dictionary definitions for neat (2 of 2)
/ (niːt) /
archaic, or dialect a domestic bovine animal
Origin of neat
2Collins 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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