neuter

[ noo-ter, nyoo- ]
See synonyms for neuter on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. Grammar.

    • noting or pertaining to a gender that refers to things classed as neither masculine nor feminine.

    • (of a verb) intransitive.

  2. Zoology, Botany. having no organs of reproduction; without sex; asexual.

  1. Zoology. having imperfectly developed sexual organs, as the worker bees and ants.

  2. neutral; siding with no one.

noun
  1. Grammar.

    • the neuter gender.

    • a noun of that gender.

    • another element marking that gender.

    • an intransitive verb.

  2. an animal made sterile by castration or spaying.

  1. Zoology. a neuter insect.

  2. a person or thing that is neutral.

verb (used with object)
  1. Veterinary Science. to spay or castrate (a dog, cat, etc.).

Origin of neuter

1
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

Words Nearby neuter

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How to use neuter in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for neuter

neuter

/ (ˈnjuːtə) /


adjective
  1. grammar

    • 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

    • (as noun): German ``Mädchen'' ( meaning ``girl'' ) is a neuter

  2. (of animals and plants) having nonfunctional, underdeveloped, or absent reproductive organs

  1. sexless or giving no indication of sex: a neuter sort of name

noun
  1. a sexually underdeveloped female insect, such as a worker bee

  2. a castrated animal, esp a domestic animal

  1. a flower in which the stamens and pistil are absent or nonfunctional

verb
  1. (tr) to castrate or spay (an animal)

Origin of neuter

1
C14: from Latin, from ne not + uter either (of two)

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