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neat

 - 6 dictionary results

neat

1  [neet] adjective, -er, -est, adverb
Use neat in a Sentence
–adjective
1. in a pleasingly orderly and clean condition: a neat room.
2. habitually orderly and clean in appearance or habits: a neat person.
3. of a simple, pleasing appearance, style, design, etc.: a neat cottage.
4. cleverly effective in character or execution: a neat scheme; a neat solution.
5. Slang. great; wonderful; fine: What a neat car!
6. clever, dexterous, or apt: She gave a neat characterization of the old woman.
7. straight (def. 33).
8. Building Trades.
a. (of cement) without sand or other aggregate.
b. (of plaster) without any admixture except hair or fiber.
9. net: neat profits.
–adverb
10. Informal. neatly.
Origin:
1300–50; ME net spruce, trim, clean < MF < L nitidus shining, polished, handsome, spruce, equiv. to nit(ēre) to shine + -idus -id 4

Related forms:
neatly, adverb
neatness, noun

Synonyms:
1. spruce, smart. 4. finished, well-planned. 6. adroit. 7. unmixed, pure.

Antonyms:
1. sloppy. 6. maladroit. 7. mixed.

neat

2  [neet]
–noun, plural neat.
an animal of the genus Bos; a bovine, as a cow or ox.
Origin:
bef. 900; ME neet, OE nēat, c. ON naut, MD noot; akin to OE nēotan to use, possess
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To neat
neat 1   (nēt)   
adj.   neat·er, neat·est

  1. Orderly and clean; tidy.

  2. Orderly and precise in procedure; systematic.

  3. Marked by ingenuity and skill; adroit: a neat turn of phrase.

  4. Not diluted or mixed with other substances: neat whiskey.

  5. Left after all deductions; net: neat profit.

  6. Slang Wonderful; terrific: That was a neat party.


[Anglo-Norman neit, clear, pure, variant of Old French net, from Latin nitidus, elegant, gleaming, from nitēre, to shine.]
neat'ly adv., neat'ness n.
Synonyms: These adjectives mean clean and in good order. Neat is the most general: a neat room; neat hair.
Tidy emphasizes precise arrangement and order: "When she saw me come in tidy and well dressed, she even smiled" (Charlotte Brontë).
Trim stresses especially smart appearance: "A trim little sailboat was dancing out at her moorings" (Herman Melville).
Shipshape evokes meticulous order: "We'll try to make this barn a little more shipshape" (Rudyard Kipling).
Spick-and-span suggests the immaculate freshness of something new: "young men in spick-and-span uniforms" (Edith Wharton).
neat 2   (nēt)   
n.   pl. neat Archaic
A cow or other domestic bovine animal.

[Middle English net, from Old English nēat.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary
neat

  1. mod.
    great; cool; fine. : That was not a very neat thing to do.
  2. exclam.
    Wow! (Usually Neat!) : Neat! I'm glad you came.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

neat  (adj.)
1542, "clean, free from dirt," from Anglo-Fr. neit, from O.Fr. net "clear, pure," from L. nitidus "well-favored, elegant, trim," lit. "gleaming," from nitere "to shine," from PIE base *nei-/*ni- "to shine" (cf. M.Ir. niam "gleam, splendor," niamda "shining;" O.Ir. noib "holy," niab "strength;" Welsh nwyfiant "gleam, splendor"). Meaning "inclined to be tidy" is from 1577. Sense of "straight liquor" is c.1800, from meaning "unadulterated" (of wine), first attested 1579. Informal sense of "very good" first recorded 1934 in Amer.Eng.; variant neato is teenager slang, first recorded 1968. Neatnik "excessively tidy person" is from 1959 (see -nik).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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