- 1 [uncountable] a type of material that is made of string, thread or wire twisted or tied together, with small spaces in between net curtains see also fishnet, netting Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectivefine, fine-mesh, safety, … verb + netmend, cast, spread, … prepositionin a/the net, into a/the net, over the net, … See full entry
- 2 [countable] (especially in compounds) a piece of net used for a particular purpose, such as catching fish or covering something fishing nets a mosquito net (= used to protect you from mosquitoes) Wordfinderfishingbait, bite, dragnet, fishing, fly, hook, line, net, rod, trawl see also hairnet, safety net Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectivefine, fine-mesh, safety, … verb + netmend, cast, spread, … prepositionin a/the net, into a/the net, over the net, … See full entry
- 3the net [singular] (in sports) the frame covered in net that forms the goal to kick the ball into the back of the net Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectivefine, fine-mesh, safety, … verb + netmend, cast, spread, … prepositionin a/the net, into a/the net, over the net, … See full entry
- 4the 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. Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectivefine, fine-mesh, safety, … verb + netmend, cast, spread, … prepositionin a/the net, into a/the net, over the net, … See full entry See related entries: Tennis
- 5 the Net (also the net) (informal) = Internet Word Originnoun Old English net, nett, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch net and German Netz.Extra examples The fishermen were mending their nets. Unfortunately the animals are often caught in fishing nets. We tried to contact all former students but one or two slipped through the net. to hit the ball over the netIdioms
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.
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.
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.
Check pronunciation: net
