Net

UK: /ˈnɛt/ US: /nɛt/ ,(net)

Inflections of 'net' (v): (⇒ conjugate)

nets

v 3rd person singular

netting

v pres p

netted

v past

netted

v past p

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

net¹ /nɛt/   n., v., net•ted, net•ting. 
n. 

1. Textiles a fabric made up of evenly sized open mesh:
   [uncountable] curtains of net.
2. a bag or other piece of such meshed fabric, for catching fish or other animals:
   [countable] a butterfly net.
3. [countable] a piece of net designed for another specific purpose, as to divide a court in racket games, or to protect against insects.
4. Sport [countable] the goal in hockey or soccer.
5. Telecommunications [countable] a computer or telecommunications network.

v. [~ + object]

6. to take with a net:
   to net fish.
7. to catch:
   The police netted one of the criminals trying to escape.
8. Sport (in racket games) to hit (the ball) into the net.

net² /nɛt/   adj., n., v., net•ted, net•ting. 
adj. 

1. (of an amount of money) remaining after nothing further needs to be subtracted or allowed for (opposed to gross): [before a noun]
   net price; net earnings.
   [after a noun] :
   earned $200 net.
2. final;
   ultimate;
   after all events have taken place:
   [before a noun] a net result.
3. (of weight) after deducting the amount of weight for the container or wrapping: [before a noun]
   The net weight is six grams.
   [after a noun]
   weighs six grams net.

n. [countable* usually singular]

4. net income, profit, etc. (opposed to gross):
   What's your net after taxes?

v. [~ + object]

5. to gain or produce as clear profit:
   netted over $150 million.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

net¹  (net), n., v., net•ted, net•ting. 
n. 

1. a bag or other contrivance of strong thread or cord worked into an open, meshed fabric, for catching fish, birds, or other animals:
   a butterfly net.
2. a piece of meshed fabric designed to serve a specific purpose, as to divide a court in racket games or protect against insects:
   a tennis net; a mosquito net.
3. anything serving to catch or ensnare:
   a police net to trap the bank robber.
4. Textiles a lacelike fabric with a uniform mesh of cotton, silk, rayon, nylon, etc., often forming the foundation of any of various laces.
5. (in tennis, badminton, etc.) a ball that hits the net.
6. Often, nets. the goal in hockey or lacrosse.
7. any network or reticulated system of filaments, lines, veins, or the like.
8. the Net, the Internet.
9. Mathematics the abstraction, in topology, of a sequence;
   a map from a directed set to a given space.
10. Telecommunications any network containing computers and telecommunications equipment.
11. Astronomy (cap.) the constellation Reticulum.
12. Informal Terms a radio or television network.

v.t. 

13. to cover, screen, or enclose with a net or netting:
    netting the bed to keep out mosquitoes.
14. to take with a net:
    to net fish.
15. to set or use nets in (a river, stream, etc.), as for catching fish.
16. to catch or ensnare:
    to net a dangerous criminal.
17. (in tennis, badminton, etc.) to hit (the ball) into the net.

• bef. 900; Middle English net (noun, nominal), netten (verb, verbal), Old English net(t) (noun, nominal); cognate with Dutch, Old Norse net, Gothic nati, German Netz

net′ta•ble, adj. 
net′like′, adj. 
Synonyms

• 15. seize, capture, trap.

net²  (net), adj., n., v., net•ted, net•ting. 
adj. 

1. remaining after deductions, as for charges or expenses (opposed to gross):
   net earnings.
2. sold at a stated price with all parts and charges included and with all deductions having been made.
3. final;
   totally conclusive:
   After all that work, what was the net result?
4. (of weight) after deduction of tare, tret, or both.

n. 

5. net income, profit, or the like.

v.t. 

6. to gain or produce as clear profit.

• 1300–50; Middle English; variant of neat¹

net′ta•ble, adj. 

NET, 

1. National Educational Television.

net¹, +n. 

1. the Net, the Internet.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

net / nɛt/ noun

1. an openwork fabric of string, rope, wire, etc; mesh
2. a device made of net, used to protect or enclose things or to trap animals
3. a thin light mesh fabric of cotton, nylon, or other fibre, used for curtains, dresses, etc
4. a plan, strategy, etc, intended to trap or ensnare: the murderer slipped through the police net
5. a strip of net that divides the playing area into two equal parts
6. a shot that hits the net, whether or not it goes over
7. the goal in soccer, hockey, etc
8. (often plural) a pitch surrounded by netting, used for practice
9. a practice session in a net
10. 
    short for internet
11. another word for network2

verb (nets, netting, netted)

1. (transitive) to catch with or as if with a net; ensnare
2. (transitive) to shelter or surround with a net
3. to make a net out of (rope, string, etc)
4. (intransitive) to hit a shot into the net

Etymology: Old English net; related to Gothic nati, Dutch net

net, nett / nɛt/ adjective

1. remaining after all deductions, as for taxes, expenses, losses, etc: net profit
   Compare gross2
2. (of weight) after deducting tare
3. ultimate; final; conclusive (esp in the phrase net result)

noun

1. net income, profits, weight, etc

verb (nets, netting, netted)

1. (transitive) to yield or earn as clear profit

Etymology: 14th Century: clean, neat, from French net neat¹; related to Dutch net, German nett