1
as in nettings
a fabric made of strands loosely twisted, knotted, or woven together at regular intervals
the basketball didn't go into the basket—it just hit the net
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in traps
a device or scheme for capturing another by surprise
drug runners caught in an elaborate net set by the police
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in tangles
something that catches and holds
caught in a net of palace intrigues
Synonyms & Similar Words
1
as in earnings
the amount of money left when expenses are subtracted from the total amount received
his net for the year was about 60% of his total income
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in hearts
the central part or aspect of something under consideration
the net of the report on race relations is that things are better but not good enough
Synonyms & Similar Words
1
as in meshes
to catch or hold as if in a net
the kite was stubbornly netted in the branches of the willow tree
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in grabs
to take physical control or possession of (something) suddenly or forcibly
a police sting that netted drug dealers from all parts of the city
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of nets
Literary Hub, 2 June 2026
Strung-up nets drip with ersatz fish and nautical paraphernalia, and the sunny interior with colorful highlights echoes coastal Mediterranean architecture.
—Kate Bradshaw, Mercury News, 2 June 2026
Chell’s comments came amid reports of makeshift defenses with nets being deployed against the backdrop of a significant shift in the conflict.
—Emma Bussey, FOXNews.com, 31 May 2026
At the gym inside Edgar Allan Poe Elementary Classical School in Pullman, students got a lesson in compassion while playing a game of goalball, a sport designed for athletes with visual impairments and played on volleyball courts with goals similar to soccer nets at each end of the court.
—Suzanne Le Mignot, CBS News, 28 May 2026
Counters such as drone nets take time to build, and Russian logistics units cannot simply stop using the highways.
—David Kirichenko, Forbes.com, 27 May 2026
Certainly the puzzles for Karpathy got harder—neural nets and then language models—but the method never really changed.
—Eva Roytburg, Fortune, 19 May 2026
Ranch houses and soccer nets dotted the background.
—Dan Greene, New Yorker, 18 May 2026
Designed with an objective of protecting the submarines docked at the piers, these nets seeks to defend against surprise attacks from drones launched from closer distances to the base, like the once in Operation Spiderweb.
—Aditya Jadhav, Interesting Engineering, 15 May 2026
Matt Baker, New York Times, 12 May 2026
The Korea Times noted that under the Capital Market Act, any person who nets KRW5 billion or more by making false representations about a financial product faces a prison term of at minimum five years, with a life sentence possible at the upper end.
—Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 21 Apr. 2026
After the premium increase is factored in, the average retiree nets roughly $38 more per month.
—Allison Palmer, Sacbee.com, 15 Apr. 2026
Bridgeport comeback nets 1st title Bridgeport’s Jared Contreras recorded a hat trick and the Bulls scored three times in overtime to down Brookshire Royal 5-2 in the boys Class 4A Division II championship game on Thursday.
—Darren Lauber, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 10 Apr. 2026
In Georgia, a motorist’s first distracted driving offense nets a $50 fine and one penalty point on their driving record.
—Doug Turnbull, AJC.com, 5 Apr. 2026
The deal nets the Yankees something in return for Vivas, who is out of minor league options and was not going to make the team’s Opening Day roster.
—Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 22 Mar. 2026
The United States’s $38 trillion national debt now nets an annual interest bill of another trillion dollars each year.
—Tiana Lowe Doescher, The Washington Examiner, 27 Feb. 2026
Suno users generate 7 million new tracks a day, which every two weeks nets out to about as many songs as exist on Spotify.
—Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 22 Dec. 2025
Noun
Writers have cast their nets into that fertile current and brought up a rich haul of fiction.
—Literary Hub, 2 June 2026
Strung-up nets drip with ersatz fish and nautical paraphernalia, and the sunny interior with colorful highlights echoes coastal Mediterranean architecture.
—Kate Bradshaw, Mercury News, 2 June 2026
Chell’s comments came amid reports of makeshift defenses with nets being deployed against the backdrop of a significant shift in the conflict.
—Emma Bussey, FOXNews.com, 31 May 2026
At the gym inside Edgar Allan Poe Elementary Classical School in Pullman, students got a lesson in compassion while playing a game of goalball, a sport designed for athletes with visual impairments and played on volleyball courts with goals similar to soccer nets at each end of the court.
—Suzanne Le Mignot, CBS News, 28 May 2026
Counters such as drone nets take time to build, and Russian logistics units cannot simply stop using the highways.
—David Kirichenko, Forbes.com, 27 May 2026
Certainly the puzzles for Karpathy got harder—neural nets and then language models—but the method never really changed.
—Eva Roytburg, Fortune, 19 May 2026
Ranch houses and soccer nets dotted the background.
—Dan Greene, New Yorker, 18 May 2026
Designed with an objective of protecting the submarines docked at the piers, these nets seeks to defend against surprise attacks from drones launched from closer distances to the base, like the once in Operation Spiderweb.
—Aditya Jadhav, Interesting Engineering, 15 May 2026
Verb
Each show nets the Cyclones about $1 million.
—Matt Baker, New York Times, 12 May 2026
The Korea Times noted that under the Capital Market Act, any person who nets KRW5 billion or more by making false representations about a financial product faces a prison term of at minimum five years, with a life sentence possible at the upper end.
—Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 21 Apr. 2026
After the premium increase is factored in, the average retiree nets roughly $38 more per month.
—Allison Palmer, Sacbee.com, 15 Apr. 2026
Bridgeport comeback nets 1st title Bridgeport’s Jared Contreras recorded a hat trick and the Bulls scored three times in overtime to down Brookshire Royal 5-2 in the boys Class 4A Division II championship game on Thursday.
—Darren Lauber, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 10 Apr. 2026
In Georgia, a motorist’s first distracted driving offense nets a $50 fine and one penalty point on their driving record.
—Doug Turnbull, AJC.com, 5 Apr. 2026
The deal nets the Yankees something in return for Vivas, who is out of minor league options and was not going to make the team’s Opening Day roster.
—Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 22 Mar. 2026
The United States’s $38 trillion national debt now nets an annual interest bill of another trillion dollars each year.
—Tiana Lowe Doescher, The Washington Examiner, 27 Feb. 2026
Suno users generate 7 million new tracks a day, which every two weeks nets out to about as many songs as exist on Spotify.
—Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 22 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nets
Noun
-
The plants may have to be removed and monitoring traps may be placed in the area.—
Don Sweeney,
Sacbee.com,
31 May 2026
-
Sinner with his changes of direction that turned neutral rallies into traps.—
Matthew Futterman,
New York Times,
31 May 2026
Noun
-
Before 2014, bull kelp—a whip-like kelp with bulbous air bladders and trailing blades —stretched across Northern California’s coastline in dense tangles.—
Tatjana Baleta,
Time,
28 May 2026
-
For dogs and cats, the Hertzko Double-Sided Dog and Cat Dematting Comb has teeth designed for intense tangles and matting.—
BestReviews,
Mercury News,
15 May 2026
Noun
-
For families The hotel has a kids club with supervised activities so that parents can dine, have spa treatments or shop to their hearts’ content.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
2 June 2026
-
Our hearts go out to Joe's family, friends and the generations of neighbors who loved him.—
Edward Segarra,
USA Today,
2 June 2026
Verb
-
Kennedy then pins the snake’s head and grabs it by the mouth, avoiding any potential venomous bites.—
Drew Pittock,
USA Today,
28 May 2026
-
Davis grabs two suitcases off the belt, pulls out a handheld computer that looks like an extra-rugged iPad, and scans the bar codes on the luggage tags.—
Joel Rose,
NPR,
26 May 2026
Verb
-
Lady Gaga Scores Her Tenth Career Appearance As Mayhem Requiem arrives, Gaga earns her milestone tenth career appearance on the Top Dance Albums chart.—
Hugh McIntyre,
Forbes.com,
30 May 2026
-
By contrast, the average full-time employee ages 18 to 25 with a bachelor’s degree earns $56,153, according to Census data.—
Daniel de Visé,
USA Today,
29 May 2026
Noun
-
Cuba also maintains elite forces trained for counter-special-operations missions, guerrilla warfare, ambushes, sabotage and close protection of senior leaders.—
Antonio María Delgado,
Miami Herald,
28 May 2026
-
Even in areas not under its direct control, the widespread sympathy in rural areas allows JNIM to set up ambushes along the main roads and dominate the main supply routes into the capitals, especially in Mali.—
Brady Knox,
The Washington Examiner,
10 May 2026
Noun
-
Sipper talked about how her company trains with scalar field outputs of simulation data, and the meshes of objects.—
John Werner,
Forbes.com,
23 May 2026
-
Functional mapping techniques, for instance, can relate similar shapes but are restricted to open-loop motions on clean meshes.—
Jijo Malayil,
Interesting Engineering,
22 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Studies found little real difference, but the new patent was an effective tool for keeping generics at bay and continuing to collect monopoly profits.—
Wayne T Brough,
Oc Register,
29 May 2026
-
In his encyclical, Leo fretted about multiple ongoing wars, lamented the decline of multilateral coalitions and blasted arms industry profits as driving the conflicts.—
Marc Ramirez,
USA Today,
29 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Nets.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nets. Accessed 4 Jun. 2026.
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