What does "neat" mean?
An artificial intelligence researcher who believes that solutions should be elegant, clear and provably correct. Compare scruffy.
Neat
/ˈniːt/ adj, intj, name, noun, slang
adj, intj, name, noun, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: An artificial intelligence researcher who believes that solutions should be elegant, clear and provably correct. Compare scruffy.
- Grammar: neat is listed as adj, intj, name, noun, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: great, orderly, absolute, ace-high.
- Useful contrasts: on the rocks, unkempt, bah.
- Usage evidence: No one is so poor that he cannot afford to be neat.
How to use "neat"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "neat" 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 "neat" 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 "neat" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "neat" 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.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "neat" is acting as adj, intj, name, noun, slang 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 "great" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "neat", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
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 An artificial intelligence researcher who believes that solutions should be elegant, clear and provably correct. Compare scruffy. informal
- 2 A bull or cow. archaic
"Who both by his calfe, & his lambe wil be known, / may well kill a neate and a shepe of his owne. / And he that wil reare up a pyg in his house, / hath cheaper his bacon, and sweter his souse."
- 3 Cattle collectively. archaic, plural, plural-only
"From thence into the open fields he fled, / Whereas the Heardes were keeping of their neat / And shepheards singing to their flockes, that fed,"
- 4 Acronym of neuroevolution of augmenting topologies, a genetic algorithm for the generation of evolving artificial neural networks. abbreviation, acronym, alt-of, uncountable
- 5 Acronym of non-exercise activity thermogenesis. abbreviation, acronym, alt-of, uncountable
Adjective
- 1 Clean, tidy; free from dirt or impurities.
"My room is neat because I tidied it this morning. She has very neat hair."
- 2 Free from contaminants; unadulterated, undiluted. Particularly of liquor and cocktails; see usage below.
"I like my whisky neat."
- 3 Conditions with a liquid reagent or gas performed with no standard solvent or cosolvent.
"The Arbuzov reaction is performed by adding the bromide to the phosphite, neat. The molecular beam was neat acetylene."
- 4 With all deductions or allowances made; net. archaic
"Why without telling the least title of Falshood, within the space of the last Week’s Play, the Gains of Count Cog, really amounted to no less than Twenty Thousand Pounds Sterling neat Money."
- 5 Having a simple elegance or style; clean, trim, tidy, tasteful.
"The front room was neat and carefully arranged for the guests."
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 Well-executed or delivered; clever, skillful, precise.
"Having the two protagonists meet in the last act was a particularly neat touch."
- 7 Facile; missing complexity or details in the favor of convenience or simplicity.
"Courts should not reduce this case to a neat set of legal rules."
- 8 Good, excellent, desirable; interesting; cool. Canada, US, colloquial
"Hey, neat convertible, man."
- 9 Obsolete form of net (“remaining after expenses or deductions”). alt-of, obsolete
"What is the neat weight of 4 hogsheads of tobacco, each weighing 10cwt. 3qrs. 10lb. gross; — tare 100lb. per hdd.?"
Adjective
- 1 free from clumsiness; precisely or deftly executed wordnet
- 2 (of an alcoholic drink) without water wordnet
- 3 excellent wordnet
- 4 superficially impressive, but lacking depth and attention to the true complexities of a subject wordnet
- 5 clean or organized wordnet
Show 1 more definition
- 6 showing care in execution wordnet
Intj
- 1 Used to signify a job well done.
- 2 Used to signify approval.
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname from Middle English.
Antonyms
Example
"No one is so poor that he cannot afford to be neat."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "neat"?
Common synonyms include: great, orderly, absolute, ace-high, adept, adroit.
How do you use "neat" in a sentence?
No one is so poor that he cannot afford to be neat.
How do you pronounce "neat"?
Pronounced /ˈniːt/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English nete, net, nette, from Anglo-Norman neit (“good, desirable, clean”), a variant of Old French net, nette (“clean, clear, pure”), from Latin nitidus (“gleaming”), derived from nitēre (“to shine”). Doublet of net and nitid. Cognate with German nett (“nice, kind”). Compare also nait.
Etymology 2
From Middle English nete, neat, from Old English nēat (“animal, beast, ox, cow, cattle”), from Proto-West Germanic *naut, from Proto-Germanic *nautą (“foredeal, profit, property, livestock”), from Proto-Indo-European *newd- (“to acquire, make use of”). Cognate with Dutch noot (“cow, cattle”, in compounds), dialectal German Noß (“livestock”), Alemannic German Nooss (“young sheep or goat”), Swedish nöt (“cattle”), Icelandic naut (“cattle, bull”) and Faroese neyt (“cattle”). More at note.
Etymology 3
English metonymic occupational surname for a herdsman or a nickname for someone thought to resemble an ox or a cow, from Middle English neat (“ox, cow”), from Old English neat.