net
/nɛt/noun, verb, adjective, adverb, interjection
net is spelled N-E-T: 3 letters and one syllable. It appears 58 times per million words in written English, the 1,793rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, net means “A mesh of string, cord or rope” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of net is nets.
How many letters and syllables are in net?
| Letters | 3: N-E-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 58 times per million words; the 1,793rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is net?
Net appears 58 times per million words in written English, the 1,793rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce net?
- /nɛt/
Net has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-net.ogg, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Naomi_Persephone_Amethyst_(NaomiAmethyst)-net.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with net
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with net?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as net.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: ten, ent.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of net
- nets plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- netting participle, present
- netted participle, past
- nett
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does net mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A mesh of string, cord or rope.
a hairnet; a mosquito net; a tennis net
- 2
A device made from such mesh, used for catching fish, butterflies, etc.
- 3
A device made from such mesh, generally used for trapping something.
- 4
Anything that has the appearance of such a device.
Petri net
- 5
A trap.
caught in the prosecuting attorney's net
- 6
Any set of polygons joined edge to edge that, when folded along the edges between adjoining polygons so that the outer edges touch, form a given polyhedron.
- 7
A system that interconnects a number of users, locations etc. allowing transport or communication between them.
- 8
A conductor that interconnects two or more component terminals.
- 9
The amount remaining after expenses or other kinds of deductions are subtracted.
Our net on that transaction was only fourteen dollars.
verb
- 1
To catch by means of a net.
- 2
To catch in a trap, or by stratagem.
- 3
To enclose or cover with a net.
Net the cherry trees to keep birds out.
- 4
To score (a goal).
Evans netted the winner in the 80th minute.
- 5
To hit the ball into the net.
- 6
To form a netting or network; to knit.
- 7
To receive as profit.
The company nets $30 on every sale.
- 8
To yield as profit for.
The scam netted the criminals $30,000.
- 9
To fully hedge a position.
Every party is netting their position with a counter-party.
- 10
To clean, wash, rinse.
adjective
- 1
Free from extraneous substances; pure; unadulterated; neat.
net wine
- 2
Remaining after expenses or deductions.
Near-synonym: take-home
- 3
Final; end.
net result; net conclusion
- 4
obsoleteGood, desirable; clean, decent, clear.
adverb
- 1
After expenses or deductions.
You'll have $5000 net.
noun
- 1
Acronym of neutrophil extracellular trap.
preposition
- 1
Initialism of no earlier than or not earlier than.
interjection
- 1
Alternative spelling of nyet.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Net in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | filet , développement , réseau , net |
| German | Netz , Netto- , mit einem Netz fangen , netto , Netto , netto verdienen |
| Portuguese | malha , planificação , líquido , enredar , rede , final |
| Spanish | red , neto, líquido , almadraba, jábega, jábeca |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does net come from?
From Middle English net, from Old English net, nett, from Proto-West Germanic *nati, from Proto-Germanic *natją (“net”), from Proto-Indo-European *neHd- (“to knot, turn, twist”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).