Meaning of net in English

net

noun

/net/ uk

/net/

plural -tt-

net noun (MATERIAL)

material made of threads of rope, string, wire, or plastic with spaces between them, allowing gas, liquid, or small objects to go through, or an object made with this material that is used to limit the movement of something:

a fishing net

a butterfly net

Dolphins often get tangled in the nets that are used to catch tuna fish.

net curtain UK The living-room windows have net curtains that let in sunlight but stop passers-by looking in from the street.

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[ usually plural, C or U ] UK

a curtain made of net, that allows light to enter but stops people seeing into your house from outside:

The nets at the kitchen window were looking a bit yellow.

We put up some nets in our front room window to stop people looking in.

Synonym

net curtain

Compare

voile

More examplesFewer examples

The goalkeeper made a valiant dive for the ball, but couldn't stop it going in the net.
There are laws there to protect the mentally ill, but now and then someone does slip through the net.
The welfare state was set up to provide a safety net for the poor and needy.
The police are tightening the net around the smugglers.
You'll have to hit the ball quite high to get it over that net.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Nets, grids and grilles

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Textiles: general words

Curtains & wallpaper

net noun (SPORTS)

B1 [ C ]

a rectangular piece of material made from string, used to separate the two sides in various sports:

If the ball touches the net during a serve in a game of tennis, you have to serve again.

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B1 [ C ]

the area surrounded by a piece of material made from string into which a ball or puck is put in order to score points in various sports:

His penalty kick placed the ball decisively in the back of the net.

a basketball net

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SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Tennis & racket sports

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Surfaces on which sports take place

the net

(also the Net)

the internet:

In my opinion, it's one of the best sites on the net.

In the beginning, access to the Net was only through a computer.

net

verb [ T ]

/net/ uk

/net/

-tt-

net verb [T] (CATCH)

to catch something using a net:

How many fish did you net this afternoon?

Thesaurus: synonyms, antonyms, and examples

to take a wild or loose animal

catchThe dog got out, but we caught her.
netWe netted a ton of fish downstream.
trawlCommercial fisheries trawl these waters for cod.
trollThey troll for tuna far offshore.
lassoThe cowboys learned at a young age how to lasso horses and steers.
trapThe turtles are trapped for their flesh.

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to get something good or to earn a lot of money from something:

[ + two objects ] She netted herself a fortune when she sold her company.

Mark's netted himself a top job with an advertising company.

Prosecutors say the defendants netted millions from a variety of schemes.

net something for someone She netted $10 million for herself from the sale of her company.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Capturing or taking possession of things

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Earning money

net verb [T] (SCORE)

If you net the ball during a game such as soccer, you score a goal:

He secured a dramatic victory for England by netting the ball half a minute before the end of the game.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Winning, losing & scoring in sport

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net

adjective [ before or after noun ]

(UK also nett)

/net/ uk

/net/

-tt-

left when there is nothing else to be taken away:

net income I earn $50,000 gross, but my net income (= income that is left after tax has been paid) is about $36,000.

net weight The net weight of something excludes the weight of the material that it is packed in.

Compare

gross adjective adverb

More examplesFewer examples

Having deducted costs we still made a net gain of five thousand dollars.
The net result of the changes will be increased fares and reduced services for most rail travellers.
The fund must buy its shares back for their approximate net asset value.
What are your net earnings?
The country's net exports have decreased.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Taxation

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.net

/ˌdɑːtˈnet/ uk

/ˌdɒtˈnet/

network: the part of an internet address that shows it belongs to a network or a business

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Internet terminology

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(Definition of net from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

net | Intermediate English

net

noun [ C ]

/net/

net noun [C] (MATERIAL)

Add to word list Add to word list

a piece of material made of long, narrow strips woven so that there are spaces between them:

fishing nets

a volleyball net

net

adjective [ not gradable ]

/net/

net adjective [not gradable] (LEFT OVER)

(of money received from selling something) left after you have subtracted the cost of what you are selling, and other expenses related to it:

net income/profit

fig. The net result (= result after everything has been considered) of the changes will be fewer trains for most suburban commuters.

Net weight is the weight of something contained in a package, without including the weight of the package.

physics

Net force is the total amount of force that is in effect on an object at a particular time.

net

verb [ T ]

/net/

-tt-

net verb [T] (GET)

to succeed in getting something of value, esp. as the result of a plan of action:

The deal netted the online video company $23 million.

net verb [T] (HIT INTO NET)

(in sports) to hit the ball into a net instead of over it:

He netted an easy backhand in the fifth game to lose the tennis match.

To net is also to catch something in a net:

They netted five crabs.

net verb [T] (HAVE LEFT OVER)

to have left after you have subtracted the cost of what you are selling, and other expenses related to it:

Smithsonian, on a gross of $28 million, netted $7 million with one magazine.

Net

noun [ U ]

/net/

short form ofInternet

Net is also used at the end of a US Internet address to show that the address belongs to a network:

[email protected]

(Definition of net from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

net | Business English

net

noun

/net/ us

Add to word list Add to word list

[ U ] MONEY, TAX US

(also net income); (also net profit)

the amount of profit that a business has left after tax has been paid:

The company's fourth-quarter net edged higher to $22.4 million from $22 million.

cast/spread your net wide

to include many people or things when you are looking for something or trying to do something:

With unemployment in the area below 1%, it has had to cast its net wide to fill the 70 jobs it expects to create this year.

Phrasal verbs

net sth down
net out
net sth out

net

adjective

( UK also nett)

/net/ us

ACCOUNTING, FINANCE

used to describe an amount of money that is left after tax and other costs have been paid:

net amount/gain/loss Sixty percent of any net gain or loss will be treated as long-term capital gain or loss.

net earnings/income/profit She favored switching the system entirely from a tax on net company profits to one on the gross value of the oil.

a net increase/decrease in sth The state will see a net increase of $743 million in income, sales, and other tax revenue.

net costs/debt/revenue

COMMERCE, PRODUCTION

used to describe a situation in which the value of goods sold or exported by one country is more than the value of the same type of goods sold or exported by the other:

The UK became a net exporter of oil.

used to describe what is left after everything important has been included or removed:

net effect/impact/result The net result of all the changes in employment levels was a solid gain of 157,000 jobs last month.

Compare

gross

net

adverb

/net/ us

ACCOUNTING, FINANCE

after tax and other costs have been paid:

She earns a salary of $60,000 net.

the net

noun

INTERNET (also the Net)

/net/ us

[ S ] INTERNET

→ internet noun

.net

INTERNET

/ˌdɒtˈnet/ us

part of an internet address that shows that it belongs to a business, often a network that provides internet services:

Their website address is www.homelove.net.

(Definition of net from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of net

net

But without television, the ticket resellers would not be netting $240,000 a week.

From Washington Post

Think about the current net book prices, which are around $300-400.

From TechCrunch

If things were just fine in the world, perhaps they'd stay with their nets.

From Huffington Post

In the 2010 survey, the average net worth of the bottom half of families was $11,400.

From Foreign Policy

You should not even expect a safety net.

From The Atlantic

When it comes to presentation, her presence is overpowering -- so much so that her videos have netted more than 1 billion web clicks.

From TIME

This is the type of info that are supposed to be shared around the net.

From CBS Local

Feed enough photos of a wombat into a neural net, and it can learn to identify a wombat.

From WIRED

Though this was generally seen as a "stimulus" bill, really it was as much about creating a safety net as a stimulus.

From TIME

That reduces your net winnings to as little as $422.2 million.

From CNBC

Those net losses started in 2014, when we lost about 12,000 people.

From Chicago Tribune

These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.