clean and neat share a recorded sense, so the question is not what they mean but which one fits. clean means “free from dirt or impurities; or having clean habits”. neat means “clean or organized”. clean is the more common of the two in everyday English.
/ˈklin/
1.adj.free from dirt or impurities; or having clean habits
“children with clean shining faces”
2.adj.free of restrictions or qualifications
“a clean bill of health”
3.adj.(of sound or color) free from anything that dulls or dims
“efforts to obtain a clean bass in orchestral recordings”
/ˈnit/
1.adj.clean or organized
“her neat dress”
2.adj.showing care in execution
“neat homework”
3.adj.free from clumsiness; precisely or deftly executed
“he landed a clean left on his opponent's cheek”
| clean | neat | |
|---|---|---|
| Pronunciation | /ˈklin/ | /ˈnit/ |
| Said | kleen | neet |
| Syllables | 1 | 1 |
| Letters | 5 | 4 |
| Parts of speech | adjective, verb, adverb, noun | adjective |
| Senses | 31 | 6 |
| How common | Core | Common |
| Synonyms | none recorded | orderly |
Full entry for clean · Full entry for neat · More comparisons