1
a
: of, relating to, or constituting the gender that ordinarily includes most words or grammatical forms referring to things classed as neither masculine nor feminine
b
: neither active nor passive : intransitive
2
: taking no side : neutral
3
: lacking or having imperfectly developed or nonfunctional generative organs
1
a
: a noun, pronoun, adjective, or inflectional form or class of the neuter gender
b
: the neuter gender
2
: one that is neutral
3
a
b
: a spayed or castrated animal
neutered; neutering; neuters
2
: to remove the force or effectiveness of (someone or something)
Democrats say those changes would effectively neuter the bureau and hand the financial industry yet another victory over the little guy.—
Michael Crowley
Michael CrowleySynonyms
Examples of neuter in a Sentence
Adjective
The pronoun “it” is neuter.
Verb
She had her dog neutered by the veterinarian.
The bill was neutered by the changes made by the legislature.
Recent Examples on the WebSam Delgado, Vox, 5 Sep. 2024
Local governments will now be required to house stray dogs in shelters and neuter, spay, and vaccinate them so that they can be adopted, The Independent reported.
—Anna Gordon, TIME, 30 July 2024
Madalyn Mendoza, Axios, 27 Sep. 2024
Routine veterinary checkups can cost several hundreds of dollars and a spay or neuter can cost between $300 and $500, according to DeGenova.
—Stephen Underwood, Hartford Courant, 26 July 2024
Ct Jones, Rolling Stone, 14 Sep. 2024
Zweigart's nonprofit, Flatbush Cats, focuses on humanely trapping community cats in Brooklyn and spaying or neutering the animals to prevent them from adding to the stray population.
—Claire Thornton, USA TODAY, 2 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for neuter 
Adjective
Their sustained growth stems from human practices, like people abandoning their dogs, neglecting to spay or neuter them, feeding strays, and improper waste management.
—Sam Delgado, Vox, 5 Sep. 2024
Local governments will now be required to house stray dogs in shelters and neuter, spay, and vaccinate them so that they can be adopted, The Independent reported.
—Anna Gordon, TIME, 30 July 2024
Noun
Adoptions include vaccinations, microchips, spay/neuter surgeries and more.
—Madalyn Mendoza, Axios, 27 Sep. 2024
Routine veterinary checkups can cost several hundreds of dollars and a spay or neuter can cost between $300 and $500, according to DeGenova.
—Stephen Underwood, Hartford Courant, 26 July 2024
Verb
The book’s critique of governmental bread and circuses to mollify the masses also gets neutered, as the film ironically shoves cameos by other Netflix stars into every available minute — as if reminding viewers there’s plenty else to watch here once the film ends.
—Ct Jones, Rolling Stone, 14 Sep. 2024
Zweigart's nonprofit, Flatbush Cats, focuses on humanely trapping community cats in Brooklyn and spaying or neutering the animals to prevent them from adding to the stray population.
—Claire Thornton, USA TODAY, 2 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for neuter
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'neuter.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near neuter
Cite this Entry
“Neuter.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/neuter. Accessed 6 Oct. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
neuter
1 of 3 adjective
neu·ter
ˈn(y)üt-ər 
1
: relating to or being the class of words that ordinarily includes most of those referring to things that are neither male nor female
a neuter noun
the neuter gender
2
: lacking sex organs
also
: having imperfectly developed sex organs
neuter
2 of 3 noun1
a
: a word or form of the neuter gender
b
: the neuter gender
2
neuter
3 of 3 verbMedical Definition
neuter
1 of 2 noun
neu·ter
ˈn(y)üt-ər
: a spayed or castrated animal (as a cat)
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