Wiktionary

tidy

See also: Tidy

English

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Etymology

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From Middle English tidy, tydy, tidi (“timely, seasonal, opportune”), from tide (“time”) +‎ -y. Cognate with Saterland Frisian tiedig (“timely, early”), Dutch tijdig (“timely”), German Low German tiedig (“timely”), German zeitig (“seasonal, timely”), Danish tidig (“timely”), Swedish tidig (“timely”).

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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tidy (comparative tidier, superlative tidiest)

  1. Arranged neatly and in order.
    She always kept her desk immaculately tidy; nothing was ever out of place.
  2. Not messy; neat and controlled.
    Keep Britain tidy by picking up litter.
  3. (colloquial) Satisfactory; comfortable.
  4. (colloquial) Generous, considerable.
    The scheme made a tidy profit.
  5. (obsolete) In good time; at the right time; timely; seasonable; opportune; favourable; fit; suitable.
    • 1573, Thomas Tusser, Five Hundred Points of Good Husbandry:
      if weather be fair and tidy
  6. (obsolete) Brave; smart; skillful; fine; good.
  7. Appropriate or suitable as regards occasion, circumstances, arrangement, or order.
  8. (data science, of data in a dataset) Normalized in a certain way that optimizes for data analysis.

Synonyms

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Antonyms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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Verb

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tidy (third-person singular simple present tidies, present participle tidying, simple past and past participle tidied)

  1. To make tidy; to neaten.

Derived terms

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Translations

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Noun

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tidy (plural tidies)

  1. (now chiefly in combination with a modifier) A container or other device for storing or organizing loose items in a tidy fashion.
    desk tidy; sink tidy; cable tidy
    • 1863, William Blanchard Jerrold, Signals of distress, in refuges and homes of charity, London, page 207:
      It was in the days when […] every scrap of cotton or linen found its way into the ‘tidy’.
    • 1895 July 6, The Ironmonger: Builders Merchant and Hardwareman, page 13:
      NORRIS'S SINK TIDY. J NORRIS AND SONS, Sunningdale, near Ascot, the inventors of the "Little Friend" soap-tray, have extended the usefulness of this utensil by designing a sink-tidy for carrying three of the trays in the manner shown in the engraving. The tidy is formed by a strip of light wood […] The price at which the tidy is offered virtually places it within the reach of everyone.
    • 2020, James Ward, The Perfection of the Paperclip, page 11:
      Inside there it was, the 1337 Revolving Desk Tidy. […] The round "tidy" was divided into six segments "for all types of small sundries," and looked a bit like a grapefruit cut across the middle.
  2. A cover, often of tatting, drawn work, or other ornamental work, for the back of a chair, the arms of a sofa, etc.
  3. (dated) A child's pinafore.
    • 1846, Miss Lambert, The Handbook of Needlework:
      A much coarser cotton, according to the fancy of the worker, may be used for the trimmings of night dresses, petticoats, D'Oyleys, tidies, etc.
  4. The wren.

Derived terms

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Translations

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Interjection

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tidy

  1. (Wales) Expression of agreement or positive acknowledgement, usually in reply to a question; great, fine.
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