Looking up...
neat
/niːt/
clean and tidy
Her apartment is always so neat and organized.
Her apartment is always clean and well-arranged.
informal
Clean, tidy, and well-organized.
He keeps his workspace neat and free of clutter.
He maintains a clean and uncluttered workspace.
She folded the clothes and put them in a neat pile.
She arranged the clothes in an orderly stack.
Often describes physical spaces or objects, but can also refer to orderly arrangements or methods.
informal
Simple and effective; cleverly done.
That’s a neat trick to open the jar!
That’s a clever way to open the jar!
She came up with a neat solution to the problem.
She found an effective and clever solution.
Used to describe ideas, methods, or actions that are smart and efficient without unnecessary complexity.
literary
Free from impurities; pure.
The chemist distilled the liquid to obtain a neat sample.
The chemist purified the liquid to get a pure sample.
Rare in modern usage; mostly found in technical or literary contexts.
Collocations
neat and tidyvery clean and well-organizedneat tricka clever or effective methodneat handwritingwriting that is clean and orderly
Pro Tip
Avoid overusing 'neat' for 'clean'
While 'neat' can mean 'clean,' it is more commonly used for tidiness or cleverness. For example, 'a neat room' implies order, not just absence of dirt.
Gold Rule
Use 'neat' for tidiness or cleverness
Reserve 'neat' for describing something orderly or smart. Avoid using it as a synonym for 'clean' in all contexts.
Word Origin
From Old English 'nēat', meaning 'cattle' or 'property', later evolving to mean 'clean' or 'orderly' in the 16th century. The sense of 'clever' emerged in the early 19th century.
Usage Notes
Commonly used in everyday speech to describe cleanliness or cleverness. The 'pure' sense is archaic and mostly found in technical writing.
Word Breakdown
neat
clean/tidy or clever
rootEnglish Dictionary