I. ˈn(y)üd.ə(r), -ütə- adjective
Etymology: Middle English neutre, from Middle French & Latin; Middle French neutre, from Latin neuter, literally, neither, from ne- (negative prefix) + uter which of two — more at no , whether
1.
a. : belonging to, connected with, or constituting the gender that ordinarily includes most words or grammatical forms referring characteristically to things that are neither masculine nor feminine
a neuter noun
the neuter gender
a neuter ending
b. : neither active nor passive : intransitive ; also : restricted to mere existence or state — used of verbs and verb forms
2. : taking no side : free from marked bias or partiality : neutral
3. : belonging to neither of two usually opposed classes
4.
a. : having no generative organs : sexless
b. : having imperfectly developed or nonfunctional generative organs either permanently or seasonally
the worker bee is neuter
• neu·ter·ly adverb
• neu·ter·ness noun -es
II. noun
( -s )
1.
a. : a noun, pronoun, adjective, or inflectional form or class of the neuter gender
b. : the neuter gender
2.
a. : one that is neutral
b. usually capitalized : neutral 1b
3.
a. : an imperfectly developed female of various social insects (as ants and honeybees) that performs labors of the community : worker
b. : a spayed or castrated animal (as a cat)
III. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
: castrate , alter