What does "neap" mean?
The tongue or pole of a cart or other vehicle drawn by two animals.
Neap
/niːp/ adj, noun, verb
adj, noun, verb ·Moderate ·College level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: The tongue or pole of a cart or other vehicle drawn by two animals.
- Grammar: neap is listed as adj, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: neap tide, couchant, crouched, dead low water.
- Useful contrasts: spring tide.
- Usage evidence: Little groups of sailors came swinging along and pushied their way noisily inside the gaudy joints. Sex everywhere: it was slopping over, a neap tide that swept the props from under the city.
How to use "neap"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "neap" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "neap" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "neap" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "neap" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
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Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "neap" is acting as adj, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "neap tide" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
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Final meaning check
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When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The tongue or pole of a cart or other vehicle drawn by two animals.
- 2 A neap tide.
"Both […] swam not landward, but toward the horizon. Very good luck, for they entered a neap rushing headlong toward shore and into a river beyond."
- 3 Alternative form of neep. alt-of, alternative
- 4 a less than average tide occurring at the first and third quarters of the moon wordnet
Verb
- 1 To trap (a ship) in water too shallow to move, due to the smaller tidal range occurring in a period of neap tides. transitive
"At 8, being high water, hauld her bow close ashore, but Keept her stern afloat, because I was afraid of Neaping her, and yet it was necessary to lay the whole of her as near the ground as possible."
- 2 To ooze, to sink, to subside, to tail. intransitive
"It is well known that the spring tides happen at the change and full of the moon, at which time she is conjunction with and opposition to the sun. As these retire from their conjunction, the tides neap till about three days after the first quadrature, when the tides begin again to be more and more elevated, and arrive at their maximum about the third day after the opposition."
Adjective
- 1 Low; lowest; the ebb or lowest point of a tide. not-comparable
- 2 Designating a tide which occurs just after the first and third quarters of the moon, when there is the least difference between high tide and low tide. not-comparable
"Little groups of sailors came swinging along and pushied their way noisily inside the gaudy joints. Sex everywhere: it was slopping over, a neap tide that swept the props from under the city."
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
spring tide
Example
"Little groups of sailors came swinging along and pushied their way noisily inside the gaudy joints. Sex everywhere: it was slopping over, a neap tide that swept the props from under the city."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "neap"?
Common synonyms include: neap tide, couchant, crouched, dead low water, debased, depressed.
How do you use "neap" in a sentence?
Little groups of sailors came swinging along and pushied their way noisily inside the gaudy joints. Sex everywhere: it was slopping over, a neap tide that swept the props from under the city.
How do you pronounce "neap"?
Pronounced /niːp/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
Perhaps of Scandinavian origin: compare dialectal Norwegian neip (“forked pole”).
Etymology 2
From Middle English neep, from Old English nēp (“scant, lacking”), possibly from Proto-Germanic *nōpiz (“narrow”). Found especially in Old English nēpflōd (“neap tide”, literally “low tide”). Compare Norwegian dialectal nøpen (“scarce, scant, barely enough”).