neat
/ni:t/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Adjective:
- Tidy and orderly: Arranged in a clean, organized, and uncluttered manner.
- Skillfully executed: Done in a precise, deft, and efficient way, showing care.
- Simple and elegant: Pleasingly simple and stylish in appearance or design.
- Excellent, very good: (Informal) Used to express approval or admiration.
- Undiluted: (Of an alcoholic drink, especially spirits) Served without being mixed with anything else.
Usage and Examples
- Describing tidiness and order:
- She keeps her desk very neat.
- He made a neat pile of the documents.
- Describing skillful execution:
- The carpenter made a neat joint.
- She gave a neat summary of the complex issue.
- Describing simple elegance:
- She was wearing a neat black dress.
- The apartment had a neat, modern design.
- Expressing admiration (informal):
- "That's a neat idea!" he exclaimed.
- We had a neat time at the concert.
- Describing an undiluted drink:
- He prefers his whiskey neat.
- I'll have a gin, neat, please.
Advanced Usage
- "neat and tidy": An emphatic phrase meaning very orderly and clean.
- Before the guests arrive, make sure the living room is neat and tidy.
- "to make a neat job of something": To complete a task skillfully and thoroughly.
- The gardener made a neat job of trimming the hedges.
Variants and Related Words
- Neatly (adverb): In a neat manner.
- The clothes were folded neatly.
- He solved the problem neatly.
- Neatness (noun): The quality or state of being neat.
- The neatness of her handwriting is impressive.
Synonyms
- Tidy: Arranged neatly and in order.
- Orderly: Neatly and methodically arranged.
- Trim: Neat and smart in appearance.
- Adroit: Clever or skillful in using the hands or mind. (For the 'skillful' sense)
- Undiluted: Not diluted or mixed. (For the drink sense)
Antonyms
- Messy: Untidy or dirty.
- Sloppy: Careless and unsystematic; excessively casual.
- Cluttered: Covered or filled with an untidy collection of things.
- Diluted: (Of a liquid) Weakened by the addition of water or another solvent.
Idioms and Phrases
- As neat as a pin: Extremely tidy and clean.
- Her office is always as neat as a pin.
- To keep things neat: To maintain order and tidiness.
- It's important to keep things neat in a shared workspace.
Adjective
- without water
- took his whiskey neat
- very good
- he did a bully job
- a neat sports car
- had a great time at the party
- you look simply smashing
- free from clumsiness; precisely or deftly executed
- he landed a clean left on his opponent's cheek
- a clean throw
- the neat exactness of the surgeon's knife
- free from what is tawdry or unbecoming
- a neat style
- a neat set of rules
- she hated to have her neat plans upset
- showing care in execution
- neat homework
- neat handwriting
- clean or organized
- her neat dress
- a neat room