- [countable, uncountable] material that is made of string, thread or wire twisted or tied together, with small spaces in between; a piece of this material used for a particular purpose
- Unfortunately the animals are often caught in fishing nets.
- She's always peering through the net curtains, spying on the neighbours.
Extra Examples- They began to cut through the net, one strand at a time.
- We slept in bamboo beds draped in mosquito nets.
- The fishermen were mending their nets.
- He bagged a huge net of carp and bream.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- fine
- fine-mesh
- safety
- …
- mend
- cast
- spread
- …
- in a/the net
- into a/the net
- over the net
- …
Definitions on the go
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- the net[singular] (in sports) the frame covered in net that forms the goal
- to kick the ball into the back of the net
- She shot the ball past the goalkeeper and into an empty net.
- Kane finally found the net in the 78th minute.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- fine
- fine-mesh
- safety
- …
- mend
- cast
- spread
- …
- in a/the net
- into a/the net
- over the net
- …
- the net[singular] (in tennis, etc.) the piece of net between the two players that the ball goes over
- She hit her second serve straight into the net.
- to hit the ball over the net
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- fine
- fine-mesh
- safety
- …
- mend
- cast
- spread
- …
- in a/the net
- into a/the net
- over the net
- …
- [countable, usually plural] (in cricket) a piece of ground with a net around it, used for practising batting and bowling
- He practised bowling all morning in the nets.
- the net(also the Net)[singular] (informal) the internet
- He spends his time playing computer games and surfing the net.
- [countable] a network of radios or computers that are connected to each other
- A call on the radio net went out that there had been a crash.
Word Originnoun Old English net, nett, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch net and German Netz.
Idioms
See net in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee net in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic Englishcast your net wide
- to consider a lot of different people, activities, possibilities, etc. when you are looking for something
- It’s worth casting your net wide when applying for your first job.
slip through the net
(also fall/slip through the cracks)
- when somebody/something slips through the net, an organization or a system fails to find them and deal with them
- We tried to contact all former students, but one or two slipped through the net.
spread your net
- to consider a wide range of possibilities or cover a large area, especially to try to find somebody/something
- They have spread their net far and wide in the search for a new team coach.
widen the net
- to consider or include a larger range of options or possibilities, especially when searching for something
- It's time to widen the net in the search for a suitable candidate.
Check pronunciation:
net