neuter
Americanadjective
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Grammar.
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noting or pertaining to a gender that refers to things classed as neither masculine nor feminine.
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(of a verb) intransitive.
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Zoology, Botany. having no organs of reproduction; without sex; asexual.
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Zoology. having imperfectly developed sexual organs, as the worker bees and ants.
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neutral; siding with no one.
noun
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neuters
plural
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Grammar.
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the neuter gender.
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a noun of that gender.
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another element marking that gender.
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an intransitive verb.
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an animal made sterile by castration or spaying.
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Zoology. a neuter insect.
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a person or thing that is neutral.
verb (used with object)
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neuters,
present (3rd person singular)
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neutered,
past participle, past
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neutering
present participle
adjective
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grammar
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denoting or belonging to a gender of nouns which for the most part have inanimate referents or do not specify the sex of their referents
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( as noun )
German ``Mädchen'' (meaning ``girl'') is a neuter
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(of animals and plants) having nonfunctional, underdeveloped, or absent reproductive organs
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sexless or giving no indication of sex
a neuter sort of name
noun
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a sexually underdeveloped female insect, such as a worker bee
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a castrated animal, esp a domestic animal
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a flower in which the stamens and pistil are absent or nonfunctional
verb
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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neutersimple
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neuterssimple
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have neuteredperfect
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has neuteredperfect
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am neuteringprogressive
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are neuteringprogressive
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is neuteringprogressive
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have been neuteringperfect progressive
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has been neuteringperfect progressive
Past
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neuteredsimple
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had neuteredperfect
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was neuteringprogressive
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were neuteringprogressive
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had been neuteringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of neuter
First recorded in 1350–1400; from Latin neuter “neither (of two),” equivalent to ne “not” + uter “either (of two)”; replacing Middle English neutre, from Middle French, from Latin, as above
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:
As they exited the modeling industry, they pivoted into animal activism and volunteering for rescue groups and trap, neuter and return programs for cats.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
Others also neuter stray cats and dogs to stop their populations from growing.
From BBC ● Apr. 25, 2026
His legislation would also provide free vaccinations and spay or neuter services to the felines.
From Barron's ● Feb. 10, 2026
To admit facts but strip them of consequence is to neuter the Fourth Amendment’s reasonableness standard.
From Slate ● Apr. 15, 2025
Factum, the neuter past participle, means ‘that which has been done’.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
The 5th Circuit’s ruling neuters a law that Congress enacted in 2020 to impose nationwide standards on the horse racing industry after the existing state-by-state patchwork failed to prevent equine fatalities and corruption scandals.
From Slate ● Jun. 12, 2026
As a key oil producer, Saudi Arabia is relied upon to surge output and stabilize markets during crises, but any physical degradation of its export capacity neuters this critical fail-safe.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 2, 2026
The group feeds, spays and neuters cats, and places them into adoption.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 28, 2023
It truly does set you free because it neuters the power of others’ narratives.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 19, 2023
The majority of ants in every nest are of course neuters, or workers, that is to say, strictly speaking, undeveloped females, incapable of laying eggs.
From Falling in Love With Other Essays on More Exact Branches of Science by Grant Allen
During the COVID-19 lockdown, Blair said shelters closed their doors because the facilities were deemed nonessential, and as a result, many animals were not spayed and neutered and many were left on the street.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
Such clout also made Zhang a potential alternate power center to Xi, who has routinely neutered even latent threats to his dominance.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 8, 2026
She also opposes public funds being given to business owners rather than low-income families who want their cats spayed or neutered.
From Barron's ● Feb. 10, 2026
Earlier this month, the seasonal effect was neutered by stock-market weakness.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 11, 2025
Rondell told us about a former foster mom’s crazy cat that never got neutered and always sat in their sixth-story window meowing at female cats that pranced by on the street below.
From "We Were Here" by Matt De La Peña
She is also an advocate for making spaying and neutering, which typically costs several hundred dollars, more affordable.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2026
An animal rescue centre says it has seen an increase in cat families being abandoned due to rising costs and a lack of neutering.
From BBC ● Mar. 1, 2026
These would include vet visits, mandatory spaying or neutering, and ensuring the cats have sufficient food, water and a safe place to sleep.
From Barron's ● Feb. 10, 2026
They specifically looked at the correlation between neutering or spaying a dog before 1 year of age and a dog's risk of developing certain cancers.
From Science Daily ● May 28, 2024
This past February, Dunn’s shelter held a clinic for spaying and neutering outdoor cats.
From Salon ● Mar. 19, 2024
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.
