Meanings
ned1
plural neds
- ScotlandderogatoryoffensiveslangA person, usually a youth, of low social standing and education, with a violent disposition and a particular style of dress (typically sportswear or Burberry), speech and behaviour.
You could live in a place for twenty years, you could clean up its streets and lock up its neds.
2022, Liam McIlvanney, The Heretic, page 281 more example
The mindless behaviour of drunken neds and nuisance neighbours brings misery to tens of thousands of honest folk.
2007 (Scotland), RecordView in Daily Record, 14 Feb 07, Scottish Daily Record and Sunday Mail, p. 8Synonyms: chav, charva, scally, scanger, schemie, Senga, yob, yobbo
Ned2
plural Neds
- A medieval diminutive of the male given name Edward.
Each winter, after their seasons end, both Neds return to their respective homes in Georgia.
2019 August 8, Alec Lewis, “‘They call me Nice Ned’: Brewers coach Ned Yost IV is finding his way in the family business”, in The Athletic, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 23 Jul 20251 more example
[B]ut ſweete Ned, to ſweeten which name of Ned, I giue thee this peniworth of ſugar, […]
c. 1597 (date written), [William Shakespeare], The History of Henrie the Fourth; […], quarto edition, London: […] P[eter] S[hort] for Andrew Wise, […], published 1598, →OCLC, [Act II, scene iv], signature D2, recto
NED3
- abbreviationinitialismInitialism of New English Dictionary.
- abbreviationinitialismInitialism of National Endowment for Democracy.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA person, usually a youth, of low social standing and education, with a violent disposition and a particular style of dress (typically sportswear or Burberry), speech and behaviour.
Origin
ned · noun
Unknown. The suggested initialism from "non-educated delinquent" is a backronym and folk etymology. Several other suggestions include a contraction of ne'er-do-well, neanderthal, or some kind of relationship with Teddy Boy although its use much predates the 1950s origin of that phrase. Ostensibly unrelated to "Ned" as a diminutive of the personal name "Edward" but the Scottish use of 'ned' for hooligan or lout is cited by the Oxford English Dictionary as dating from the early 19th century. The OED also attributes a possible derivation from the 'Edward' diminutive.
Full word history & related roots →Ned · proper noun
From rebracketing of the phrase mine Ed to my Ned.
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with ned
Anagrams
Cite this entry
ned. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ned
“ned.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ned. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “ned,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ned.
Source: ned on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.