Word Study
neat
CIDE DICTIONARY
neat, n. sing. & pl. [AS. neát; akin to OHG. n, Icel. naut, Sw. nöt, Dan. nöd, and to AS. neótan to make use of, G. geniessen, Goth. niutan to have a share in, have joy of, Lith. nauda use, profit.].
Cattle of the genus Bos , as distinguished from horses, sheep, and goats; an animal of the genus Bos ; as, a neat's tongue; a neat's foot. Chaucer. [1913 Webster]
"Wherein the herds[men] were keeping of their neat." [1913 Webster]
"The steer, the heifer, and the calf
Are all called neat." [1913 Webster]
Are all called neat." [1913 Webster]
"A neat and a sheep of his own." [1913 Webster]
Of or pertaining to the genus Bos , or to cattle of that genus; as, neat cattle. [1913 Webster]
- Free from that which soils, defiles, or disorders; clean; cleanly; tidy. [1913 Webster]"If you were to see her, you would wonder what poor body it was that was so surprisingly neat and clean." [1913 Webster]
- Free from what is unbecoming, inappropriate, or tawdry; simple and becoming; pleasing with simplicity; tasteful; chaste; as, a neat style; a neat dress. [1913 Webster]
- Free from admixture or adulteration; good of its kind; as, neat brandy; to drink one's vodka neat. Chapman. [1913 Webster]
- Excellent in character, skill, or performance, etc.; nice; finished; adroit; as, a neat design; a neat thief. [1913 Webster]
Syn. -- Nice; pure; cleanly; tidy; trim; spruce.
OXFORD DICTIONARY
neat, adj.
1 tidy and methodical.
2 elegantly simple in form etc.; well-proportioned.
3 (of language, style, etc.) brief, clear, and pointed; epigrammatic.
4 a cleverly executed (a neat piece of work). b deft; dextrous.
5 (of esp. alcoholic liquor) undiluted.
6 US sl. (as a general term of approval) good, pleasing, excellent.
1 tidy and methodical.
2 elegantly simple in form etc.; well-proportioned.
3 (of language, style, etc.) brief, clear, and pointed; epigrammatic.
4 a cleverly executed (a neat piece of work). b deft; dextrous.
5 (of esp. alcoholic liquor) undiluted.
6 US sl. (as a general term of approval) good, pleasing, excellent.
Derivative
neatly adv. neatness n.
neat, n. archaic 1 a bovine animal.
2 (as pl.) cattle.
2 (as pl.) cattle.
Idiom
neat's-foot oil oil made from boiled cow-heel and used to dress leather.
Etymology
OE neat f. Gmc
THESAURUS
neat
Attic, Ciceronian, Daedalian, OK, Spartan, absolute, ace-high, adept, adroit, all ataunto, anal, apt, artistic, ascetic, ataunt, austere, authoritative, bad, bald, bang-up, bare, bonzer, boss, bravura, braw, brilliant, bully, bungup and bilge-free, but good, calligraphic, candid, capital, chaste, chic, chipper, clarified, classic, classy, clean, clean-cut, clear, clever, clothes-conscious, comely, common, commonplace, cool, coordinated, copperplate, corking, cosmopolitan, crack, crackerjack, cunning, cute, daedal, dandy, dapper, dashing, deft, delicious, dexterous, dextrous, dinky, diplomatic, direct, distilled, dressed to advantage, dressed to kill, dry, ducky, dull, easy, efficient, elegant, excellent, exceptional, expert, exquisite, fab, fancy, fastidious, fine, fine and dandy, finished, first-class, frank, gear, genteel, good, goodish, graceful, gracile, grand, great, groovy, handy, heavy, homely, homespun, hot, hunky-dory, ingenious, jam-up, jaunty, just dandy, keen, lean, limpid, lucid, magisterial, marvy, masterful, masterly, matter-of-fact, mean, naked, natty, natural, nifty, no mean, nobby, okay, on the rocks, open, orderly, organized, out of sight, peachy, peachy-keen, pellucid, perspicuous, plain, plain-speaking, plain-spoken, polished, politic, posh, precise, prim, professional, proficient, prosaic, prosing, prosy, pure, purified, quick, quite some, ready, recherche, rectified, refined, regular, resourceful, restrained, ripping, ritzy, round, rum, rustic, scrumptious, severe, shapely, sharp, sheer, shipshape, simple, simple-speaking, skillful, slap-up, sleek, slick, smart, smashing, smug, snazzy, snug, sober, soigne, soignee, solid, some, something else, sophisticated, spare, spick and span, spiffing, spiffy, splendid, spruce, stark, statesmanlike, straight, straightforward, stunning, style-conscious, stylish, super, swank, swanky, swell, systematic, tactful, tasteful, taut, terse, the compleat, the complete, tidy, tight, top-hole, top-notch, topping, tough, tricksy, trig, trim, unadorned, unadulterated, unaffected, unalloyed, unblended, uncluttered, uncombined, uncomplicated, uncompounded, uncorrupted, uncut, undiluted, unembellished, unfortified, unimaginative, unlabored, unleavened, unmingled, unmixed, unornamented, unpoetical, unsophisticated, untinged, unvarnished, virtuoso, well-cared-for, well-done, well-dressed, well-favored, well-formed, well-groomed, well-made, well-ordered, well-proportioned, well-shaped, wizard, wonderful, workmanlikeROGET THESAURUS
neat
Conciseness
N conciseness, brevity, the soul of wit, laconism, Tacitus, ellipsis, syncope, abridgment, compression, epitome, monostich, brunch word, portmanteau word, concise, brief, short, terse, close, to the point, exact, neat, compact, compressed, condensed, pointed, laconic, curt, pithy, trenchant, summary, pregnant, compendious, succinct, elliptical, epigrammatic, quaint, crisp, sententious, concisely, briefly, summarily, in brief, in short, in a word, in a few words, for shortness sake, to come to the point, to make a long story short, to cut the matter short, to be brief, it comes to this, the long and the short of it is, brevis esse laboro obscurus fio.Plainness
N plainness, simplicity, severity, plain terms, plain English, Saxon English, household words, plain, simple, unornamented, unadorned, unvarnished, homely, homespun, neat, severe, chaste, pure, Saxon, commonplace, matter-of- fact, natural, prosaic, dry, unvaried, monotonous, in plain terms, in plain words, in plain English, in plain common parlance, point-blank.Elegance
N elegance, purity, grace, ease, gracefulness, readiness, concinnity, euphony, numerosity, Atticism, classicalism, classicism, well rounded periods, well turned periods, flowing periods, the right word in the right place, antithesis, purist, elegant, polished, classical, Attic, correct, Ciceronian, artistic, chaste, pure, Saxon, academical, graceful, easy, readable, fluent, flowing, tripping, unaffected, natural, unlabored, mellifluous, euphonious, euphemism, euphemistic, numerose, rhythmical, felicitous, happy, neat, well put, neatly put, well expressed, neatly expressed.Cleanness
N cleanness, cleanliness, purity, cleaning, purification, defecation, purgation, lustration, detersion, abstersion, epuration, mundation, ablution, lavation, colature, disinfection, drainage, sewerage, lavatory, laundry, washhouse, washerwoman, laundress, dhobi, laundryman, washerman, scavenger, dustman, sweep, white wings brush, broom, besom, mop, rake, shovel, sieve, riddle, screen, filter, blotter, napkin, cloth, maukin, malkin, handkerchief, towel, sudary, doyley, doily, duster, sponge, mop, swab, cover, drugget, wash, lotion, detergent, cathartic, purgative, purifier, disinfectant, aperient, benzene, benzine benzol, benolin, bleaching powder, chloride of lime, dentifrice, deobstruent, laxative, clean, cleanly, pure, immaculate, spotless, stainless, taintless, trig, without a stain, unstained, unspotted, unsoiled, unsullied, untainted, uninfected, sweet, sweet as a nut, neat, spruce, tidy, trim, gimp, clean as a new penny, like a cat in pattens, cleaned, kempt, abstergent, cathartic, cleansing, purifying, neatly, clean as a whistle.Simpleness
N simpleness, purity, homogeneity, elimination, sifting, purification, simple, uniform, of a piece, homogeneous, single, pure, sheer, neat, unmixed, unmingled, unblended, uncombined, uncompounded, elementary, undecomposed, unadulterated, unsophisticated, unalloyed, untinged, unfortified, pur et simple, incomplex, free from, exempt from, exclusive, simple, only.Order
N order, regularity, uniformity, symmetry, lucidus ordo, music of the spheres, gradation, progression, series, subordination, course, even tenor, routine, method, disposition, arrangement, array, system, economy, discipline orderliness, rank, place, orderly, regular, in order, in trim, in apple-pie order, in its proper place, neat, tidy, en regle, well regulated, correct, methodical, uniform, symmetrical, shipshape, businesslike, systematic, unconfused &c (confuse), arranged, in order, methodically, in turn, in its turn, by steps, step by step, by regular steps, by regular gradations, by regular stages, by regular intervals, seriatim, systematically, by clockwork, gradatim, at stated periods, natura non facit saltum, order is heaven's first law, order from disorder sprung, ordo est parium dispariumque rerum sua loca tribue.Beauty
N beauty, the beautiful, to kalon, le beau ideal, aesthetics, callaesthetics, pulchritude, form, elegance, grace, beauty unadorned, natural beauty, symmetry, comeliness, fairness, polish, gloss, good effect, good looks, belle tournure, trigness, bloom, brilliancy, radiance, splendor, gorgeousness, magnificence, sublimity, sublimification, concinnity, delicacy, refinement, charm, je ne sais quoi, style, Venus, Aphrodite, Hebe, the Graces, Peri, Houri, Cupid, Apollo, Hyperion, Adonis, Antionous, Narcissus, peacock, butterfly, garden, flower of, pink of, bijou, jewel, work of art, flower, flow'ret gay, wildflower, rose, lily, anemone, asphodel, buttercup, crane's bill, daffodil, tulip, tiger lily, day lily, begonia, marigold, geranium, lily of the valley, ranunculus, rhododendron, windflower, pleasurableness, beautifying, landscaping, landscape gardening, decoration, calisthenics, beauty, hunk (of men), beautiful, beauteous, handsome, gorgeous, pretty, lovely, graceful, elegant, prepossessing, attractive, delicate, dainty, refined, fair, personable, comely, seemly, bonny, good-looking, well-favored, well-made, well-formed, well- proportioned, proper, shapely, symmetrical, harmonious, sightly, fit to be seen, passable, not amiss, goodly, dapper, tight, jimp, gimp, janty, jaunty, trig, natty, quaint, trim, tidy, neat, spruce, smart, tricksy, bright, bright eyed, rosy cheeked, cherry cheeked, rosy, ruddy, blooming, in full bloom, brilliant, shining, beamy, beaming, sparkling, splendid, resplendent, dazzling, glowing, glossy, sleek, rich, superb, magnificent, grand, fine, sublime, showy, specious, artistic, artistical, aesthetic, picturesque, pictorial, fait a peindre, well-composed, well grouped, well varied, curious, enchanting becoming, ornamental, undeformed, undefaced, unspotted, spotless, auxilium non leve vultus habet, beauty born of murmuring sound, flowers preach to us if we will hear, gratior ac pulchro veniens in corpore virtus, none but the brave deserve the fair, thou who hast the fatal gift of beauty.For further exploring for "neat" in Webster Dictionary Online
