English Reference
Noun

neuter

n.
C1 Advanced US /ˈnutɝ/ UK /njˈuːtɐ/ neuter UK spelling neuters Biology Grammar

n.a word or a person that does not have a gender. In grammar, it describes a word that does not change to show if it is male, female, or neither.

n.a grammatical category or a person or thing that is neither male nor female. In a linguistic context, it refers to a noun or pronoun that does not distinguish between genders.


SIMPLE

The word 'book' is a neuter noun in English.

CONTEXTUAL

In many languages, the neuter gender is used for objects or abstract concepts that do not have a biological sex.

COMPLEX

The transition from a masculine to a neuter form in the plural indicates a shift in the speaker's perspective toward the subject matter.

They also take cats in for veterinary care and neutering if needed.

BBC News· 14 Aug 2026

Inherited from Middle English neutre, from Latin neuter, from ne (“not”) + uter (“whether”), a semantic loan from Koine Greek οὐδέτερος (oudéteros); compare English whether and neither.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry
Origin Latin neuter
Level C1 · Advanced
Frequency Occasional
Updated