ENGLISH
REFERENCE

neither

adj.
B1 Intermediate Oxford US //ˈnaɪðɝ// UK //nˈaɪðɐ// nei·ther Archaic General-service

adj. not the first one and not the second one. You use it when you are talking about two things and you want to say that none of them are true or chosen.

adj. not one nor the other of two people or things. Functions as a distributive word that refers to two entities individually and negates both.


SIMPLE

Neither dress fits me properly.

CONTEXTUAL

Neither candidate impressed the interview panel enough to be offered the position immediately.

COMPLEX

Neither approach proved entirely successful, as the first lacked sufficient funding while the second failed to account for local environmental regulations.

Origin

Alteration (after either) of nauther, from Middle English neiþer, from Old English nāwþer, contraction of nāhwæþer, corresponding to no + whether. Compare Latin neuter (“neither”). By surface analysis, not + either.

Usage

Typically precedes a singular countable noun; when followed by 'of', the noun must be plural.

Pitfall

Neither of the boys are here.Neither of the boys is here.In formal writing, the verb should be singular because the word refers to each person individually.

Idioms3 entries

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