verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Verb

1. 1
   To make (someone or something) neat; to arrange (people or things) in an orderly, tidy way; to tidy. transitive

   "She made a frantic attempt to neaten her hair."

2. 2
   care for one's external appearance wordnet
3. 3
   To engage in activity that arranges someone or something in an orderly, tidy way. intransitive

   "Don't mind me if I neaten while you talk."

4. 4
   put (things or places) in order wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

groomtidycleanclean upclean upclear the decks

Example

More examples

"She made a frantic attempt to neaten her hair."

Etymology

From neat + -en.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.