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:
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
Some people have braved the high temperatures to tidy up the mess in their houses from the quake and put workplaces back in order.
From Barron's ● Jul. 30, 2026
They provide so much support for our planet, as decomposers, pest controllers, food for other animals and generally for keeping our systems clean and tidy.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 29, 2026
“There is no tidy predictable schedule to the illness,” she said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026
My family lived in the South Shore neighborhood of Chicago, in a tidy brick bungalow that belonged to Robbie and her husband, Terry.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
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
He tidies up a pile of papers on his desk, takes a seat, and starts class.
From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove
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
Councils have tried various methods to make this tidier, ranging from placing vinyl stickers on pavements showing where bin bags should be placed, to repurposing plastic storage containers normally made for grit or dog waste.
From BBC ● Nov. 15, 2025
Sharing became tidier, too — or at least tidier until the glaze made its move.
From Salon ● Sep. 30, 2025
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
Sonically too, the music conjures an in-between state, with breezy pop melodies roughed up by strange textures and asymmetric structures that carry even the tidiest songs in unexpected directions.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 3, 2021
“He has the tidiest and most orderly brain, with the greatest capacity for storing facts, of any man living. . . . All other men are specialists, but his specialism is omniscience.”
From Washington Post ● Oct. 2, 2018
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
I have to say he was the tidiest person in the house, as opposed to Sophie, who used the floor as a display rack for her clothing choices.
From "Schooled" by Gordon Korman
More recently, I tidied the home of a friend who was in the hospital, the pill bottles and crumpled blankets left in situ as evidence of someone else’s pain.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 28, 2026
That night, Gil tidied up around the store, cleaned the bathroom, got ready to close for the day.
From Slate ● Mar. 25, 2026
So obviously I tidied my entire bedroom because I knew the Zoom was going to face out.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 9, 2026
I tidied up the wiring using the kind of tape that the factory would have used in 1939.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 14, 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
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
Norwegian CEO Bernt Børnich says NEO is very useful in his own home, busily hoovering and tidying up after his family, which he says is "a mix" of autonomous action and human-operated.
From BBC ● Jan. 11, 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
They did some tidying at the Lockton house and kept the officers fed too.
From "Chains" by Laurie Halse Anderson
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.
