tidy
Americanadjective
-
tidier,
comparative
-
tidiest
superlative
verb (used with or without object)
-
tidies,
present (3rd person singular)
-
tidied,
past participle, past
-
tidying
present participle
noun
-
tidies
plural
-
any of various articles for keeping things tidy, as a box having small drawers and compartments.
-
an antimacassar.
adjective
-
characterized by or indicating neatness and order
-
informal considerable
a tidy sum of money
verb
noun
-
-
a small container in which odds and ends are kept
-
a container with holes in the bottom, kept in the sink to retain rubbish that might clog the plug hole
-
-
an ornamental protective covering for the back or arms of a chair
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Adjectives
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
tidysimple
-
tidiessimple
-
have tidiedperfect
-
has tidiedperfect
-
am tidyingprogressive
-
are tidyingprogressive
-
is tidyingprogressive
-
have been tidyingperfect progressive
-
has been tidyingperfect progressive
Past
-
tidiedsimple
-
had tidiedperfect
-
was tidyingprogressive
-
were tidyingprogressive
-
had been tidyingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of tidy
First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English tidi, tidy “seasonable,” hence “good”; cognate with Dutch tijdig; equivalent to tide 1 + -y 1
Explanation
Use the adjective tidy for something that is neat and clean. If your desk were more tidy, you would be able to find your computer. Tidy (or tidy up) also means “to clean up” and is also a noun for a container for small objects, like scraps or sewing materials. These senses of tidy have a formal or even old-fashioned note. (We’re more likely to say clean, organize, or bin now in everyday conversation.) Tidy is also an informal adjective meaning "large or considerable." If you can put the word tidy before your profit or the sum in your bank account, it’s a good thing.
Vocabulary lists containing tidy
Mr. Popper’s Penguins
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Boy: Tales of Childhood
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"Musée des Beaux Arts" by W.H. Auden
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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:
It was a strange little society of meats that belonged neither behind the butcher counter nor among the premium lunch meats — the thin-sliced turkey in its tidy package, the glossy hunk of honey ham.
From Salon ● Aug. 25, 2026
The funds focus on lower-risk infrastructure businesses, which act as a tidy diversifier between bonds and equities, portfolio manager Bertrand Cliquet told MarketWatch in an interview on Monday.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026
As Karen and I triage our possessions, I have discovered the joys of life in a tidy house.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 8, 2026
“There is no tidy predictable schedule to the illness,” she said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026
There was no dense and mysterious forest nearby, only bright orchards of fruit trees arranged in tidy rows, and the spires of Swanburne’s chapel were visible for miles around.
From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood
Moriarty figures heavily in the opening episodes of “Sherlock & Daughter” too, although Dougray Scott lends a malevolent scruff to him that Park’s interpretation tidies up.
From Salon ● Apr. 16, 2025
Watch: Mouse tidies up man's shed every night.
From BBC ● Jan. 7, 2024
Tears pour down Paul’s face as he tidies up the disheveled uniform looking for words to say goodbye.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 12, 2023
Although the deception predictably comes to a head, as Joy’s husband and daughter act on their suspicions that something is awry, “Call Jane” tidies that mess with baffling brevity.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 25, 2022
I watch as she tidies my room, picks up clothes, straightens the things on my desk.
From "A Place at the Table" by Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan
Given that gentrification, almost by definition, transforms high-disorder areas into tidier ones, and given that the process appears to be continuing in New York and other cities, hasn’t Mr. Gottlieb got matters exactly backward?
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 8, 2026
Sure, it would be tidier, and feel better, to get all of one’s support from like-minded individuals.
From Slate ● Feb. 15, 2026
"Being a little tidier and keep the bogeys off the scorecard, I think I can have a good weekend and get closer to the leaders."
From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2025
Many natives can be pruned for a tidier appearance, though you may sacrifice some habitat value.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 26, 2024
She picked up her chained dæmon, whose baleful eyes glared at Lord Asriel over her shoulder, and went through to make herself tidier.
From "The Amber Spyglass" by Philip Pullman
It's not the tidiest grinder I've ever used, but it's the best for brewed coffee.
From Salon ● Aug. 29, 2022
Jameis Winston, the infamous, reckless turnover machine, threw for five touchdowns in the tidiest 20-pass performance you’ll ever witness.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 14, 2021
The book was shaped, in collaboration with the composers, by Rick Elice, a writer of “Jersey Boys,” that tidiest of blockbuster jukebox musicals, as well as the ecstatic story-theater piece “Peter and the Starcatcher.”
From New York Times ● Jul. 25, 2018
"One thing we've become professionals at is reading our diary onstage," Seth says in the tidiest encapsulation of their songwriting style.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 29, 2018
Some of the tidiest nurses on the ward lived in stews in their own rooms, and she would not have been surprised to see a new version of Cecilia’s old chaos.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
It is not simply that the curators have tidied up before letting the public in: Woolf’s “writing lodge” at Monk’s House in Sussex, England, for instance, is suspiciously clear of crumpled envelopes and broken cigarette-holders.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 27, 2026
That night, Gil tidied up around the store, cleaned the bathroom, got ready to close for the day.
From Slate ● Mar. 25, 2026
Molting peacocks squawked in the distance and a Pacific breeze whispered through the eucalyptus as flamingo keeper Liz Gibbons tidied her station at the San Francisco Zoo.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 18, 2025
"I cleaned and tidied the house completely, said goodbye to it, and cried for 15 minutes. Then we left Tehran," they said.
From BBC ● Jun. 16, 2025
I aired out our pallet and blanket and tidied our cellar corner.
From "Chains" by Laurie Halse Anderson
Beijing cleaner Lin Meiqiong found her work a little easier the day she was paired with an unlikely new colleague -- a tall, wheeled robot with AI-powered tidying skills.
From Barron's ● Jun. 11, 2026
"We spent about four hours tidying up rubbish," said Bennett's eight-year-old.
From BBC ● Jun. 2, 2026
Donning my academic editor title, I imagined myself tasked with the act of tidying, turning teenage madness, drama, beauty into writing that is still dramatic and beautiful—just grammatically correct.
From Slate ● Mar. 20, 2026
And the groove, this time led by a simple, prancing line by Mr. Maynard, simulates the rhythmic movement of tidying up.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 6, 2026
On the last day, Min told Tree-ear to spend the afternoon at the house, tidying the yard.
From "A Single Shard" by Linda Sue Park
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.
