Meaning & use
neat
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Meanings
adjectivecomparable
Tidy and well arranged, with everything in its place.
Grammar: Used before a noun or after be: a neat desk, the room is neat.
Patterns
- neat and tidy
Her notes were neat and easy to read.
He keeps a neat garden.
The shelves were stacked in neat rows.
adjectiveafter a verb
Of an alcoholic drink, served without ice, water or a mixer.
Grammar: Usually follows the noun or verb: whisky, neat.
Patterns
- drink something neat
He drinks his whisky neat.
I'll have a vodka, neat.
The bartender poured the rum neat.
adjectivecomparable
Clever and simple in the way it works or is done.
Grammar: Often used for solutions: a neat trick.
Patterns
- a neat solution to something
That is a neat solution to the problem.
She came up with a neat way to save space.
The magician performed a neat trick with a coin.
adjectivecomparableinformalAmerican
Good, enjoyable or impressive.
Grammar: Casual and mainly American.
That's a neat idea!
We saw some neat birds at the lake.
It's a neat little café on the corner.
Word forms
| comparative | neater |
|---|---|
| superlative | neatest |
Common combinations
- neat and tidy
- Her room is always neat and tidy.
- neat handwriting
- The teacher praised his neat handwriting.
- neat trick
- That's a neat trick; how did you do it?
- neat appearance
- He kept a neat appearance for interviews.
- neat package
- She wrapped the gift in a neat package.
- drink neat
- He likes to drink bourbon neat.
Synonyms and how they differ
- tidy
- It focuses on order and cleanliness of a space, while neat can also describe appearance and handwriting.
- orderly
- It suggests a system or arrangement and sounds more formal.
- smart
- It describes a sharp, well-groomed look rather than orderliness.
- straight
- It is the equivalent for drinks without a mixer, mostly in American speech.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: neat or net?
neat vs net
Net means a mesh or the amount left after deductions. Neat has the long vowel and means tidy.
Practice
The customer asked for her whisky ______, meaning without ice or water.
Choose one answer.
Neat is the standard word for an alcoholic drink with nothing added. Clean, raw and pure are not used this way.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “neat”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.