adjective

neat

neat, tidy, cool, undiluted

Her room is always neat.

Her room is always neat.

That's a neat idea.

That's a neat idea.

He likes his whiskey neat.

He likes his whisky neat.

neat + [noun] tidy A neat room is easy to clean.

(to be) neat to be tidy His handwriting is very neat.

[drink] + neat (of a drink) undiluted I'll have a whisky, neat.

Synonyms: tidy, orderly, clever, cool; Antonyms: messy, disorderly

From Middle English 'nete', from Old French 'net' ('clean, pure'), from Latin 'nitidus' ('gleaming, bright').

Imagine a 'net' catching all the mess, leaving everything 'neat'. For the 'cool' meaning, think 'That's neat!' as a simple, positive exclamation.

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