neat

¹ American  

[neet] / nit /

adjective

neater, neatest

1. in a pleasingly orderly and clean condition.

   a neat room.

   Synonyms:

   smart, spruce

   Antonyms:

   sloppy

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 solution.

   a neat scheme;

   a neat solution.

   Synonyms:

   wonderful, well-planned

5. Slang. great; excellent; fine.

   What a neat car!

6. clever, dexterous, or apt.

   She gave a neat characterization of the old woman.

   Synonyms:

   adroit

   Antonyms:

   maladroit

7. (of liquid, especially liquor) straight.

   Synonyms:

   pure, unmixed

   Antonyms:

   mixed

8. Building Trades.

   1. (of cement) without sand or other aggregate.

   2. (of plaster) without any admixture except hair or fiber.

9. net.

   neat profits.

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adverb

1. Informal. neatly.

neat ² American  

[neet] / nit /

noun

plural

neat

1. an animal of the genus Bos; a bovine, as a cow or ox.

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neat ¹ British  

/ niːt /

adjective

1. clean, tidy, and orderly

2. liking or insisting on order and cleanliness; fastidious

3. smoothly or competently done; efficient

   a neat job

4. pat or slick

   his excuse was suspiciously neat

5. (of alcoholic drinks) without added water, lemonade, etc; undiluted

6. a less common word for net 2

   neat profits

7. slang good; pleasing; admirable

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neat ² British  

/ niːt /

noun

1. archaic a domestic bovine animal

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Other Word Forms

• neatly adverb
• neatness noun

Etymology

Origin of neat¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English net “spruce, trim, clean,” from Middle French, from Latin nitidus “shining, polished, handsome, spruce,” equivalent to nit(ēre) “to shine” + -idus adjective suffix; see -id ⁴

Origin of neat²

First recorded before 900; Middle English net, nete, nette, Old English nēat, cognate with Old Norse naut, Middle Dutch noot; akin to Old English nēotan “to use, possess”

Explanation

If you're neat, you're clean and tidy. A neat roommate is usually easier to live with than a sloppy one. And a neat mustache is probably better than a big bushy one. Your neat handwriting might have made you the pride of your third-grade teacher, and your neat hairstyle will pass muster with your ballet instructor (who insists on a very tidy bun on every dancer's head). You can also use the word neat to mean "great," "cool," or "super." Neat comes from the Old French net, "clear or pure," from the Latin nitidus, "gleaming." Since the 1930s, it's also meant "very good."

Example Sentences

Scientists usually rely on physical traits that separate one species from another, but in nature those differences do not always fall into neat categories.

From Science Daily • Apr. 21, 2026

But when he returned to the fish form 30 years later, Mcleod said, “they started to become actually Baroque, so that’s kind of neat to see that evolution.”

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 17, 2026

A neat, new feature aims to get rid of a pain point and make something easier and more efficient.

From Salon • Apr. 13, 2026

It’s called the just-war tradition, and although it doesn’t spit out neat yes-or-no answers, it does point to the right questions.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 6, 2026

Every detail about the woman was neat and precise, except for her fingers, which were smudged with dark grease.

From "The Wild Robot Escapes" by Peter Brown

Related Words

• accurate
• elegant
• immaculate
• orderly
• precise
• sleek
• slick
• smart
• spotless
• tidy
• well-kept