neat
1 (nēt)
[Anglo-Norman neit, clear, pure, variant of Old French net, from Latin nitidus, elegant, gleaming, from nitēre, to shine.]
adjective: neat·er, neat·est.
- Orderly and clean; tidy.
- Orderly and precise in procedure; systematic.
- Marked by ingenuity and skill; adroit: a neat turn of phrase.
- Not diluted or mixed with other substances: neat whiskey.
- Left after all deductions; net: neat profit.
- Slang Wonderful; terrific: That was a neat party.
derivatives
- neat́ly
- adverb
- neat́ness
- noun
synonyms:
neat1tidy, trim, shipshape, spick-and-span 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)
[Middle English net, from Old English nēat.]
noun: pl., neat.
Archaic- A cow or other domestic bovine animal.
