Library / English Dictionary

TIDY

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

Irregular inflected forms: tidied    , tidier    , tidiest   

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Receptacle that holds odds and ends (as sewing materials)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("tidy" is a kind of...):

receptacle (a container that is used to put or keep things in)

 II. (adjective) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Large in amount or extent or degree

Example:

a sizable fortune

Synonyms:

goodish; goodly; healthy; hefty; respectable; sizable; sizeable; tidy

Classified under:

Adjectives

Similar:

considerable (large or relatively large in number or amount or extent or degree)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Marked by order and cleanliness in appearance or habits

Example:

a tidy mind

Classified under:

Adjectives

Similar:

uncluttered; unlittered (having nothing extraneous)

straight (neatly arranged; not disorderly)

slicked up (having been made especially tidy)

shipshape; trim; well-kept (of places; characterized by order and neatness; free from disorder)

ruly (neat and tidy)

neat (showing care in execution)

neat; orderly (clean or organized)

clean-cut; trig; trim (neat and smart in appearance)

Also:

fastidious (giving careful attention to detail; hard to please; excessively concerned with cleanliness)

clean (free from dirt or impurities; or having clean habits)

groomed (neat and smart in appearance; well cared for)

Antonym:

untidy (not neat and tidy)

Derivation:

tidiness (the trait of being neat and orderly)

tidiness (the habit of being tidy)

Sense 3

Meaning:

(of hair) neat and tidy

Example:

a nicely kempt beard

Synonyms:

kempt; tidy

Classified under:

Adjectives

Similar:

groomed (neat and smart in appearance; well cared for)

Derivation:

tidiness (the trait of being neat and orderly)

 III. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Put (things or places) in order

Example:

Tidy up your room!

Synonyms:

clean up; neaten; square away; straighten; straighten out; tidy; tidy up

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "tidy" is one way to...):

order (bring order to or into)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "tidy"):

make; make up (put in order or neaten)

clean; clean house; houseclean (clean and tidy up the house)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Credits

 Context examples: 

The room in question was of a commodious, well-proportioned size, and handsomely fitted up as a dining-parlour; and on their quitting it to walk round the grounds, she was shown, first into a smaller apartment, belonging peculiarly to the master of the house, and made unusually tidy on the occasion; and afterwards into what was to be the drawing-room, with the appearance of which, though unfurnished, Catherine was delighted enough even to satisfy the general.

(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)

Much could not be hoped from the traffic of even the busiest part of Highbury;—Mr. Perry walking hastily by, Mr. William Cox letting himself in at the office-door, Mr. Cole's carriage-horses returning from exercise, or a stray letter-boy on an obstinate mule, were the liveliest objects she could presume to expect; and when her eyes fell only on the butcher with his tray, a tidy old woman travelling homewards from shop with her full basket, two curs quarrelling over a dirty bone, and a string of dawdling children round the baker's little bow-window eyeing the gingerbread, she knew she had no reason to complain, and was amused enough; quite enough still to stand at the door.

(Emma, by Jane Austen)

Father was a plumber in the Tottenham Court Road, and he left a tidy business behind him, which mother carried on with Mr. Hardy, the foreman; but when Mr. Windibank came he made her sell the business, for he was very superior, being a traveller in wines.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

His method of tidying was peculiar: he simply swallowed all the flies and spiders in the boxes before I could stop him.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

He has the tidiest and most orderly brain, with the greatest capacity for storing facts, of any man living.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

This morning, as the man was buried and the investigation over—so far as this room is concerned—we thought we could tidy up a bit.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Laurie leisurely departed to recover the lost property, and Jo bundled up her braids, hoping no one would pass by till she was tidy again.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

She said little, but she saddened my life by insisting that I should be for ever clean and tidy.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Bessie had now finished dusting and tidying the room, and having washed her hands, she opened a certain little drawer, full of splendid shreds of silk and satin, and began making a new bonnet for Georgiana's doll.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

"Oh, very well," he said; "let her come in, by all means; but just wait a minute till I tidy up the place."

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)