2 N‑COUNT A net is a piece of netting which is used as a protective covering for something, for example to protect vegetables from birds. □ I threw aside my mosquito net and jumped out of bed.
3 N‑COUNT A net is a piece of netting which is used for catching fish, insects, or animals. □ Several fishermen sat on wooden barrels, tending their nets.
4 N‑SING The Net is the same as the internet .
5 VERB If you net a fish or other animal, you catch it in a net. □ [V n] I'm quite happy to net a fish and then let it go.
6 N‑COUNT In games such as tennis, the net is the piece of netting across the centre of the court which the ball has to go over.
7 N‑COUNT The net on a football or hockey field is the framework with netting over it which is attached to the back of the goal. □ He let the ball slip through his grasp and into the net.
8 N‑COUNT In basketball, the net is the netting which hangs from the metal hoop. You score goals by throwing the ball through the hoop and netting.
9 VERB If you net something, you manage to get it, especially by using skill. □ [V n] They were intent on netting the £250,000 reward.
10 VERB If you net a particular amount of money, you gain it as profit after all expenses have been paid. □ [V n] Last year he netted a cool 3 million pounds by selling his holdings.
11 → see also netting , safety net
12 PHRASE If you cast your net wider , you look for or consider a greater variety of things. □ The security forces are casting their net wider.
13 PHRASE If criminals slip through the net , they avoid being caught by the system or trap that was meant to catch them. □ Officials fear some of the thugs identified by British police may have slipped through the net.
14 PHRASE You use slip through the net or fall through the net to describe a situation where people are not properly cared for by the system that is intended to help them. □ The single homeless largely fall through the net of state welfare.
➋ net ◆◇◇ /ne t/ in BRIT, also use nett 1 ADJ [ADJ n] A net amount is one which remains when everything that should be subtracted from it has been subtracted. □ …a rise in sales and net profit. □ At the year end, net assets were £18 million. □ [+ of ] What you actually receive is net of deductions for the airfare and administration. ● ADV [ADV after v] Net is also an adverb. □ Balances of £5,000 and above will earn 11 per cent gross, 8.25 per cent net. □ All bank and building society interest is paid net.
2 ADJ [ADJ n] The net weight of something is its weight without its container or the material that has been used to wrap it. □ …350 mg net weight.
3 ADJ [ADJ n] A net result is a final result after all the details have been considered or included. □ We have a net gain of nearly 50 seats, the biggest for any party in Scotland. □ We will be a net exporter of motor cars in just a few years' time. SYNONYMS net NOUN ➊1
mesh: The ground-floor windows are obscured by wire mesh.
netting: …mosquito netting.
lattice: We were crawling along the narrow steel lattice of the bridge.
net|ball /ne tbɔːl/ N‑UNCOUNT In Britain and some other countries, netball is a game played by two teams of seven players, usually women. Each team tries to score goals by throwing a ball through a net on the top of a pole at each end of the court.
net|book /ne tbʊk/ (netbooks ) N‑COUNT A netbook is a type of small computer that you can easily carry around with you. [COMPUTING ]
ne t cu r|tain (net curtains ) N‑COUNT [usu pl] Net curtains are curtains made of thin cloth that people hang across their windows to stop people outside seeing into their houses in the daytime. [BRIT ] in AM, use sheers
net|head /ne thed/ (netheads ) N‑COUNT If you call someone a nethead , you mean that they spend a lot of time using the internet. [INFORMAL ]
neth|er /ne ðə r / ADJ [ADJ n] Nether means the lower part of a thing or place. [OLD-FASHIONED ] □ He was escorted back to the nether regions of Main Street.
nether|world /ne ðə r wɜː r ld/ also nether world N‑SING If you refer to a place as a netherworld , you mean that it is dangerous and full of poor people and criminals. □ [+ of ] Waits sang about the boozy netherworld of urban America.
neti|quette /ne t I ket/ N‑UNCOUNT Netiquette is the set of rules and customs that it is considered polite to follow when you are communicating by means of email or the internet.
nett /ne t/ → see net ➋
net|ting /ne t I ŋ/ N‑UNCOUNT Netting is a kind of material made of pieces of thread or metal wires. These are woven together so that there are equal spaces between them. □ …mosquito netting. □ …wire netting.
net|tle /ne t ə l/ (nettles , nettling , nettled )
1 N‑COUNT Nettles are wild plants which have leaves covered with fine hairs that sting you when you touch them. □ The nettles stung their legs.
2 VERB If you are nettled by something, you are annoyed or offended by it. □ [be V -ed] He was nettled by her manner. □ [V n] It was the suggestion that he might alter course to win an election that really nettled him.
net|work ◆◆◇ /ne twɜː r k/ (networks , networking , networked )
1 N‑COUNT A network of lines, roads, veins, or other long thin things is a large number of them which cross each other or meet at many points. □ [+ of ] …Strasbourg, with its rambling network of medieval streets. □ [+ of ] The uterus is supplied with a rich network of blood vessels and nerves.