net

1 noun

1 (C, U) a piece of material consisting of strings, threads, or wires woven across each other with regular spaces in between, used, for example, for catching fish, protecting vegetables etc: a fishing net

2 the net

a) a long net used in games such as tennis that the players must hit the ball over

b) a net forming an enclosure at the back of the goal in football, hockey etc: Cole slammed the ball into the back of the net.

3 (U) very thin material made from fine threads woven together with very small spaces between: net curtains

4 (C) a bag made of net on the end of a stick used for catching butterflies (butterfly (1)) etc

5 (C) a communications or computer network

6 the Net technical the Internet; a system that allows millions of computer users around the world to exchange information

—see also: cast your net wide cast 1 (18), hairnet, safety net 2 verb netted, netting (T)

1 to catch a fish in a net: We netted three fish in under an hour.

2 especially AmE to earn a particular amount of money as a profit after tax has been paid: I was netting around $64,000 a year.

3 informal to hit or kick the ball into the net in sport

4 to succeed in getting something by using your skill: a company that has netted several large contracts

3 also nett BrE adjective (only before noun)

1 a net amount of money is the amount that remains after everything has been taken away from it: net profit (=profit after tax, rent etc are paid): He took 50% of the net revenue.

—compare gross 1 (1)

2 net weight the weight of something without its container: 2lb/500g etc net: jars of coffee weighing 450 grams net

3 net result (of) the final result of something: The net result of this policy was even worse inflation.