net
/nɛt/
net noun: a mesh of string, cord or rope. Also the alternative spelling of nyet.
Noun (1)
net (plural nets)
- A mesh of string, cord or rope.
- a hairnet; a mosquito net; a tennis net
- A device made from such mesh, used for catching fish, butterflies, etc.
- Then there came a reg'lar terror of a sou'wester same as you don't get one summer in a thousand, and blowed the shanty flat and ripped about half of the weir poles out of the sand. We spent consider'ble money getting 'em reset, and then a swordfish got into the pound and tore the nets all to...1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter I, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC
- A device made from such mesh, generally used for trapping something.
- The nets have to be checked to make sure that they are not tangled up and therefore useless, and the carcasses of the dead sharks are removed.1983, Richard Ellis, The Book of Sharks, Knopf, →ISBN, page 190
- Anything that has the appearance of such a device.
- Petri net
- Synonyms:
- reticulation
- A trap.
- A man that flattereth his neighbor spreadeth a net for his feet.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Proverbs xxix:5
- caught in the prosecuting attorney's net
- Synonyms:
- snare
- Any set of polygons joined edge to edge that, when folded along the edges between adjoining polygons so that the outer edges touch, form a given polyhedron.
- Synonyms:
- development
- A system that interconnects a number of users, locations etc. allowing transport or communication between them.
- A conductor that interconnects two or more component terminals.
- A framework backed by a mesh, serving as the goal in hockey, soccer, lacrosse, etc.
- Wigan had N'Zogbia sent off late on but Squillaci headed into his own net to give the home side a deserved point.2010 December 29, Mark Vesty, “Wigan 2-2 Arsenal”, in BBC
- The striker headed the ball into the net to make it 1-0.
- A mesh stretched to divide the court in tennis, badminton, volleyball, etc.
- The area of the court close to the net (mesh stretched to divide the court).
Verb (1)
net (third-person singular simple present nets, present participle netting, simple past and past participle netted)
- To catch by means of a net.
- Synonyms:
- catch
- To catch in a trap, or by stratagem.
- And now I am here, netted and in the toils.1814 July 7, [Walter Scott], Waverley; or, ’Tis Sixty Years Since. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), Edinburgh: […] James Ballantyne and Co. for Archibald Constable and Co.; London...
- To enclose or cover with a net.
- Net the cherry trees to keep birds out.
- Old Yew, which graspest at the stones
That name the under-lying dead,
Thy fibres net the dreamless head,
Thy roots are wrapt about the bones.1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], “Canto II”, in In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC
- To score (a goal).
- Evans netted the winner in the 80th minute.
- Romeu then scored a penalty, Torres netted a header and Moses added the sixth from substitute Oscar's cross.2012, Chelsea 6-0 Wolves
- To hit the ball into the net.
- Azarenka whipped a sensational forehand around the net post to break for 2-0 in the second set, followed it up with a love hold and moved to 5-1 when Paszek netted a forehand.2011 June 28, David Ornstein, “Wimbledon 2011: Victoria Azarenka beats Tamira Paszek in quarters”, in BBC Sport
- To form a netting or network; to knit.
- I was shown into a pretty but rather close drawing-room, and there sat Agnes, netting a purse.1849 May – 1850 November, Charles Dickens, The Personal History of David Copperfield, London: Bradbury & Evans, […], published 1850, →OCLC
Adjective
net (not comparable)
- Free from extraneous substances; pure; unadulterated; neat.
- net wine
- Remaining after expenses or deductions.
- Near-synonym: take-home
- net profit; net weight
- Final; end.
- net result; net conclusion
- Good, desirable; clean, decent, clear.
- Her brest all naked, as net iuory, / Without adorne of gold or siluer bright […]1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book III, Canto XII”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC
Adverb
net (not comparable)
- After expenses or deductions.
- You'll have $5000 net.
Noun (2)
net (plural nets)
- The amount remaining after expenses or other kinds of deductions are subtracted.
- Our net on that transaction was only fourteen dollars.
- The net on that container was only fourteen tons.
Verb (2)
net (third-person singular simple present nets, present participle netting, simple past and past participle netted)
Verb (3)
net (third-person singular simple present nets, present participle netting, simple past and past participle netted)
Noun (3) capitalized: NET
NET (plural NETs)
- Acronym of neutrophil extracellular trap.
Preposition capitalized: NET
NET
Proper noun (1) capitalized: Net
the Net
- Clipping of Internet.
- The Web is just part of the Net.
Proper noun (2) capitalized: Net
Net
- A nickname for someone named Jeannette (or any of its alternative forms).
- Grandmother used my full middle name when she was talking about me. “Net's, short for Jeannette, baby,” Grandmother proudly answered each time. They all knew who Net was. “Net's gone back to Cincinnati,” she added.2014 October 7, Tyra Garlington, The Memory Box, Xlibris Corporation, →ISBN
- But it's a sacrifice I'm willing to make for you, Net. 'Cuz I'm not like my parents. I want what's best for you. Always. You know that, right?” “Yeah.” Mom pauses the way she does before she's about to say something she thinks is a part[…]2022 August 9, Jennette McCurdy, I'm Glad My Mom Died, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN, page 11
Also used as
net is also the alternative spelling of nyet.
net meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu
net in Hindi
- mesh of string, cord or rope
- जाल jāl
- device for catching fish, butterflies etc.
- जाल jāl
net in Tamil
- mesh of string, cord or rope
- வலை valai
- device for catching fish, butterflies etc.
- வலை valai
net in Marathi
- device for catching fish, butterflies etc.
- जाळे j̈āḷe
net in Urdu
- mesh of string, cord or rope
- جال jāl
More languagesFewer languages
- net in Bengali
- জাল jal
- net in Telugu
- వల vala
- net in Malayalam
- വല vala
- net in Kannada
- ನೆಟ್, ನಿವ್ವಳ
- net in Punjabi
- ਨੈੱਟ
- net in Gujarati
- નેટ, ચોખ્ખું, ચોખ્ખી
- net in Odia
- ନେଟ୍, ନେଟ
- net in Sanskrit
- जाल jāla
- net in Assamese
- জাল zal
- net in Nepali
- नेट
- net in Pashto
- تور tor, جال jāl
- net in Arabic
- شَبَكَة šabaka, شبكة šabaka
- net in Malay
- sirat, jala, jaring, pukat
- net in Indonesian
- jaring
- net in Persian
- شَبَکِه šabake, تور tur
- net in Thai
- ข่าย kàai, ตาข่าย dtaa-kàai, อวน uuan, แห hɛ̌ɛ
- net in Vietnamese
- lưới, mạng, mùng
- net in Myanmar
- ကွန် kwan
Examples of net in a sentence
- We spent consider'ble money getting 'em reset, and then a swordfish got into the pound and tore the nets all to slathers, right in the middle of the squiteague season.1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter I, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:
- "How much energy did you gain from those attacks verses^([sic – meaning versus]) how much did you use to heal?" "It was a small net loss.2021 August 30, Dave Barrack, Grrl Power (webcomic), Grrl Power #975 – Cheap kick:
Synonyms of net
1 more synonymsFewer synonyms
Forms of net
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | nets |
| plural | NETs |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | nets |
| present participle | netting |
| past participle | netted |
| past | netted |
| Adjective | |
| alternative form | nett |
| Proper noun | |
| alternative form | 'Net |
Origin of net
From Middle English net, from Old English net, nett, from Proto-West Germanic *nati, from Proto-Germanic *natją (“net”), from Proto-Indo-European *neHd- (“to knot, turn, twist”). Cognates Cognate with North Frisian näät (“net”), Saterland Frisian Nät (“net”), West Frisian and Dutch net (“net”), German and Luxembourgish Netz (“net”), Yiddish נעץ (nets, “net”), Danish, Elfdalian, Faroese, and Icelandic net (“net”), Norwegian Bokmål nett (“net”), Norwegian Nynorsk net, nett (“net”), Swedish nät (“net”), Gothic 𐌽𐌰𐍄𐌹 (nati, “net”).
From Middle English net, nette, from Old French net, from Latin nitidus. Doublet of neat and nitid.
Borrowed from Middle French nettoyer (“to cleanse”).
Words formed from net
- denet
- net earnings
- net exporter
- net force
- net importer
- net income
- net ionic equation
- net lease
- net loss
- net magnetization vector
- net margin
- net metering
- net migration
- net-net
- net net
- net operating income
- net operating loss
- net pay
- net present value
- net profit
- netput
- net register ton
- net sales
- net tangible assets
- net weight
- net worth
- net wt.
- net-zero
- net zero
- on net
- netting
- NETosis
- Clear Net
- Light Net
- Netflix
- netiquette
- netizen
- African net sponge
- all is fish that comes to the net
- all's fish that comes to the net
- Apollonian net
- back of the net
- balloon net
- beard net
- bednet
- bobbinet
- bodynet
- botnet
- bow net
- bramble net
- Brussels net
- butterfly net
- camouflage net
- cargo net
- casting net
- casting-net
- cast net
- cast one's net far and wide
- cast one's net wide
- cast one's net wider
Phrases with net
- dip net
- hay net
- net art
- net cop
- net gun
- net out
- set net
- clap net
- Deep Net
- drop net
- fold net
- fyke net
116 more phrasesFewer phrases
- gill net
- hair net
- hand net
- hare net
- lave net
- life net
- lift net
- mist net
- nerf net
- net ball
- net café
- net cops
- net deck
- net guns
- net nets
- push net
- wolf net
- dilly net
- drift net
- ghost net
- halal net
- midge net
- nerve net
- net balls
- net decks
- net layer
- Petri net
- point net
- purse net
- scoop net
- shark net
- sweep net
- tooth net
- trail net
- trawl net
- water net
- Wulff net
- garden net
- hockey net
- net blotch
- net decked
- net forces
- net layers
- net leases
- net losses
- net minder
- net worths
- neural net
- pocket net
- safety net
- shrimp net
- spring net
- tangle net
- tunnel net
- cricket net
- doubles net
- draught net
- fishing net
- hit the net
- landing net
- malaria net
- net curtain
- net decking
- net incomes
- net margins
- net minders
- net profits
- net weights
- singles net
- suicide net
- torpedo net
- find the net
- mosquito net
- net curtains
- net run rate
- scramble net
- semantic net
- shopping net
- finds the net
- found the net
- net call sign
- net exporters
- net importers
- empty net goal
- net call signs
- net neutrality
- empty net goals
- finding the net
- net asset value
- nothing but net
- net asset values
- net café refugee
- net café refugees
- net register tons
- social safety net
- net present values
- African net sponges
- net ionic equations
- casts one's net wide
- net operating losses
- slip through the net
- casts one's net wider
- net operating incomes
- slips through the net
- spread one's net wide
- casting one's net wide
- spreads one's net wide
- casting one's net wider
- slipped through the net
- slipping through the net
- spreading one's net wide
- net magnetization vectors
- casts one's net far and wide
- casting one's net far and wide
- your net worth is your network
- your network is your net worth
Words that rhyme with net
48 more rhymesFewer rhymes
- vignette
- whet
- sett
- cornet
- let
- manchette
- roulette
- yet
- cadet
- cassette
- collarette
- forget
- pet
- banquette
- met
- mignonette
- musette
- octet
- reset
- unset
- abet
- beget
- brunette
- cuvette
- debt
- dinette
- dudette
- duet
- minuet
- navette
- planchette
- quartet
- regret
- silhouette
- vinaigrette
- aid and abet
- amourette
- barrette
- bavette
- bet
- brett
- briquette
- corvette
- couchette
- enucleate
- fossette
- grisette
- ket
Questions about net
- What does net mean?
- Net means a mesh of string, cord or rope.
- What is net in Hindi?
- Net in Hindi is जाल (jāl). See Net meaning in Hindi.
- How do you use net in a sentence?
- We spent consider'ble money getting 'em reset, and then a swordfish got into the pound and tore the nets all to slathers, right in the middle of the squiteague season.
- What part of speech is net?
- Net can be a noun, a verb, an adjective or an adverb.
- How do you pronounce net?
- Net is pronounced /nɛt/.
- What is the plural of net?
- The plural of net is nets.
Words near net in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: net (page history and authors); NET (page history and authors); Net (page history and authors); net (Kannada, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); net (Punjabi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); net (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); net (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); net (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-net.ogg.
Cite this entry: “net.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/net. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.