net

plural nets

1. A mesh of string, cord or rope.

   a hairnet; a mosquito net; a tennis net

2. A device made from such mesh, used for catching fish, butterflies, etc.

   1 more example

   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 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

3. 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

4. Anything that has the appearance of such a device.

   Petri net

   Synonyms: reticulation

5. broadlyA trap.

   caught in the prosecuting attorney's net

   1 more example

   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

   Synonyms: snare

6. geometryAny 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

7. A system that interconnects a number of users, locations etc. allowing transport or communication between them.
   1. businessA conductor that interconnects two or more component terminals.
8. hobbiesA framework backed by a mesh, serving as the goal in hockey, soccer, lacrosse, etc.

   The striker headed the ball into the net to make it 1-0.

   1 more example

   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

9. hobbiesA mesh stretched to divide the court in tennis, badminton, volleyball, etc.
10. broadlyhobbiesThe area of the court close to the net (mesh stretched to divide the court).

present singular third person nets · participle present netting · participle past netted · past netted

1. transitiveTo catch by means of a net.

   Synonyms: catch

2. figurativelytransitiveTo 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: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, →OCLC

   Synonyms: catch, ensnare, entrap, snare, trap

3. To enclose or cover with a net.

   Net the cherry trees to keep birds out.

   1 more example

   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

4. transitiveball gamesTo score (a goal).

   Evans netted the winner in the 80th minute.

   1 more example

   Romeu then scored a penalty, Torres netted a header and Moses added the sixth from substitute Oscar's cross.

   2012, Chelsea 6-0 Wolves

5. hobbiesTo 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

6. 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

alternative nett

1. not comparableFree from extraneous substances; pure; unadulterated; neat.

   net wine

2. not comparableRemaining after expenses or deductions.

   net profit; net weight

   2 more examples

   Near-synonym: take-home

   "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. Close enough that I basically broke even. The nose hurt more, but the knee required more energy to put back together."

   2021 August 30, Dave Barrack, Grrl Power (webcomic), Grrl Power #975 – Cheap kick

   Synonyms: clear, take-home

3. not comparableFinal; end.

   net result; net conclusion

4. not comparableobsoleteGood, 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

alternative nett

1. not comparableAfter expenses or deductions.

   You'll have $5000 net.

plural nets · alternative nett

1. The amount remaining after expenses or other kinds of deductions are subtracted.

   The net on that container was only fourteen tons.

   1 more example

   Our net on that transaction was only fourteen dollars.

present singular third person nets · participle present netting · participle past netted · past netted · alternative nett

1. transitiveTo receive as profit.

   The company nets $30 on every sale.

2. transitiveTo yield as profit for.

   The scam netted the criminals $30,000.

3. To fully hedge a position.

   Every party is netting their position with a counter-party.

present singular third person nets · participle present netting · participle past netted · past netted

1. dialectalTo clean, wash, rinse.

1. alternativeAlternative spelling of nyet.

   Sal. Russia says ‘net’ to border deal / / The Baltic Times. – 1997.

   1998, Tālavs Jundzis, editor, Baltijas valstis likten̦griežos: Politiskas, ekonomiskas un tiesiskas starptautiskās sadarbības problēmas uz XXI gadu simten̦a sliekšn̦a […] (overall work in Latvian), Riga: Latvijas Zinātn̦u akadēmija, →ISBN, page 454

   5 more examples

   Or again, the Russian Government may now take a poor view of publicizing rumours of Snowmen being sighted within their own frontiers. They may prefer to say Net to the prospect of dealing with inquiring foreigners who might ask for permission to go rampaging for footprints and sightings all over their mountains.

   1961, Odette Tchernine, “The Russians Investigate”, in The Snowman and Company, London: Robert Hale, →OCLC, page 59

   Communist propaganda has created for Russia a reputation of a “peace-loving” power which it values. It cannot, therefore, afford to say net to any and every Western proposal.

   1971, Bulletin, Munich: Institute for the Study of the USSR, →OCLC, page 29

   Then as now this impersonal vastness was the public face of Russia. Its voice, if it had one, intoned an unmistakable Net. And all the canals and looking-glass mansions, in their courtly but firm way, were saying Net too.

   1983, Colin Thubron, “Leningrad”, in Among the Russians, London: Heinemann, →ISBN, page 74

   He asked me what nationality I was, and I replied, “American.” / “Net, net,” he cried. “What nationality?”

   1995, William Minor, “The Ukraine, in Joy and Sorrow”, in Unzipped Souls: A Jazz Journey through the Soviet Union, Philadlephia, Pa.: Temple University Press, →ISBN, part 3 (Leningrad and the Republics), page 160

   The idea to buy Soviet art was born around 1985, however it took three years to overcome problems, starting with both government USSR and USA both say net. That was predictable. It was during the cold war. The Russians were viewed as the enemy and vice versa.

   2001, ArtChronika, numbers 1–3, Moscow, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 81, column 1

alternative 'Net

1. abbreviationclippinginformalcomputingClipping of Internet.

   The Web is just part of the Net.

1. 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

   1 more example

   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

plural NETs

1. abbreviationacronymbiologyAcronym of neutrophil extracellular trap.

1. abbreviationinitialismInitialism of no earlier than or not earlier than.