neat

[ neet ]

/ nit /

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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

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.

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ANTONYMS FOR neat

1. sloppy. 6. maladroit. 7. mixed.

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Related formsneat·ly, adverbneat·ness, noun

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

Examples from the Web for neatness

However…the failure to send a distress call still undermines the neatness of this picture.
How Flight 370 Could Have Become a Zombie|Clive Irving|March 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In the cottage they occupied there was every appearance of neatness and comfort.
Gleanings by the Way|John A. Clark
She sets you other young ladies an example in point of neatness.
Witch Winnie's Mystery, or The Old Oak Cabinet|Elizabeth W. Champney
This education in neatness and self-respect was not book education, but it was more valuable than much learned from books.
The American Missionary -- Volume 54, No. 4, October, 1900|Various

It is very important to neatness, comfort, and success in sewing, that a lady's workbasket should be properly fitted up.
A Treatise on Domestic Economy|Catherine Esther Beecher
He dressed well, with a sobriety becoming his years, and was always the pink of neatness.
Mount Royal, Volume 1 of 3|Mary Elizabeth Braddon

British Dictionary definitions for neatness

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

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 neatness

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.

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

Examples from the Web for neatness

neat

adjective

Word Origin for neat

neat

noun plural neat

Word Origin for neat

neat

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