net

[net]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR net ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a bag or other contrivance of strong thread or cord worked into an open, meshed fabric, for catching fish, birds, or other animals: a butterfly net.

a piece of meshed fabric designed to serve a specific purpose, as to divide a court in racket games or protect against insects: a tennis net; a mosquito net.

anything serving to catch or ensnare: a police net to trap the bank robber.

a lacelike fabric with a uniform mesh of cotton, silk, rayon, nylon, etc., often forming the foundation of any of various laces.

(in tennis, badminton, etc.) a ball that hits the net.

Often nets. the goal in hockey or lacrosse.

any network or reticulated system of filaments, lines, veins, or the like.

any network containing computers and telecommunications equipment.

the Net, the Internet.

Mathematics. the abstraction, in topology, of a sequence; a map from a directed set to a given space.

(initial capital letter) Astronomy. the constellation Reticulum.

Informal. a radio or television network.

verb (used with object), net·ted, net·ting.

to cover, screen, or enclose with a net or netting: netting the bed to keep out mosquitoes.

to take with a net: to net fish.

to set or use nets in (a river, stream, etc.), as for catching fish.

to catch or ensnare: to net a dangerous criminal.

(in tennis, badminton, etc.) to hit (the ball) into the net.

Origin of net

before 900; Middle English net (noun), netten (v.), Old English net(t) (noun); cognate with Dutch, Old Norse net, Gothic nati, German Netz

Related formsnet·ta·ble, adjectivenet·like, adjective

Synonyms for net

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR net ON THESAURUS.COM

15. seize, capture, trap.

net

[net]

adjective

remaining after deductions, as for charges or expenses (opposed to gross): net earnings.

sold at a stated price with all parts and charges included and with all deductions having been made.

final; totally conclusive: After all that work, what was the net result?

(of weight) after deduction of tare, tret, or both.

noun

net income, profit, or the like.

verb (used with object), net·ted, net·ting.

to gain or produce as clear profit.

Origin of net

1300–50; Middle English; variant of neat¹

Related formsnet·ta·ble, adjective

NET

National Educational Television.

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

Related Words for net

screen, network, accumulate, earn, reap, exclusive, clear, remaining, final, excluding, lace, cloth, lattice, netting, fabric, lacework, reticulum, openwork, tracery, nab

Examples from the Web for net

Contemporary Examples of net

“Hence, there might be a net benefit, at least to some females, of breeding within the natal group,” the researchers speculate.
Mongooses, Meerkats, and Ants, Oh My! Why Some Animals Keep Mating All in the Family
Helen Thompson
December 29, 2014
The outcome of the rum feud is critical for both Bacardi and Pernod Ricard, because the winner could net billions in future sales.
Why Congress Hates Your Cuban Rum
Tim Mak
December 19, 2014
In contrast, areas 10 to 20 miles away from city hall gained roughly 15 million net residents.
The Progressives’ War on Suburbia
Joel Kotkin
November 16, 2014
Affordability (20%): Net price of attendance after deducting grants and scholarship aid (NCES).
The Daily Beast College Rankings Methodology
Brandy Zadrozny
November 5, 2014
The jacket and gloves were a precaution in the event the eaglet panicked, but there was little fuss as he tossed the net over her.
He Faces Jail for Rescuing Baby Eagles
Michael Daly
November 2, 2014

Historical Examples of net

When she woke it was to a blaze of sunlight, but caught in the net of her closed curtains.
Weighed and Wanting
George MacDonald
Mulready's illustrations of 1843 are here referred to, net his pictures.
De Libris: Prose and Verse
Austin Dobson
Her spell had no effect on the god, who at once cast his net over her.
The Babylonian Legends of the Creation
British Museum
But I have a net--a big net--like a tent beneath which I sit.
The Leopard Woman
Stewart Edward White
A kind of net for effecting an involuntary change of environment.
The Devil's Dictionary
Ambrose Bierce

British Dictionary definitions for net

net

noun

an openwork fabric of string, rope, wire, etc; meshRelated adjective: retiary

a device made of net, used to protect or enclose things or to trap animals

a thin light mesh fabric of cotton, nylon, or other fibre, used for curtains, dresses, etc
(as modifier)net curtains

a plan, strategy, etc, intended to trap or ensnarethe murderer slipped through the police net

sport

a strip of net that divides the playing area into two equal parts
a shot that hits the net, whether or not it goes over

the goal in soccer, hockey, etc

(often plural) cricket

a pitch surrounded by netting, used for practice
a practice session in a net

informal short for internet

another word for network (def. 2)

verb nets, netting or netted

(tr) to catch with or as if with a net; ensnare

(tr) to shelter or surround with a net

(intr) sport to score a goalRangers netted three times in seven minutes

to make a net out of (rope, string, etc)

(intr) to hit a shot into the net

Word Origin for net

Old English net; related to Gothic nati, Dutch net

net

nett

adjective

remaining after all deductions, as for taxes, expenses, losses, etcnet profit Compare gross (def. 2)

(of weight) after deducting tare

ultimate; final; conclusive (esp in the phrase net result)

noun

net income, profits, weight, etc

verb nets, netting or netted

(tr) to yield or earn as clear profit

Word Origin for net

C14: clean, neat, from French net neat 1; related to Dutch net, German nett

net

the internet domain name for

a company or organization

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 net

Old English net "netting, network, spider web, mesh used for capturing," also figuratively, "moral or mental snare or trap," from Proto-Germanic *natjan (cf. Old Saxon net, Old Norse, Dutch net, Swedish nät, Old High German nezzi, German Netz, Gothic nati "net"), originally "something knotted," from PIE *ned- "to twist, knot" (cf. Sanskrit nahyati "binds, ties," Latin nodus "knot," Old Irish nascim "I bind, oblige").

adj.

"remaining after deductions," 1510s, from earlier sense of "trim, elegant, clean, neat" (c.1300), from Old French net "clean, pure," from Latin nitere "to shine, look bright, glitter" (see neat). Meaning influenced by Italian netto "remaining after deductions." As a noun, 1910.

v.1

"to capture in a net," early 15c., from net (n.). Related: Netted; netting.

v.2

"to gain as a net sum," 1758, from net (adj.). Related: Netted; netting.

net in Culture

net

What remains after all deductions have been made. (Compare gross.)