• (RP) IPA: /ˈnjuːtə/
• (America) IPA: /ˈn(j)utɚ/

neuter (not comparable)

1. (now, uncommon) Neutral; on neither side; neither one thing nor another.

   Synonyms: impartial, neutral

   • 1595 December 9 (first known performance), William Shakespeare, “The life and death of King Richard the Second”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC ↗, [Act II, scene 3]:

     But if I could, by Him that gave me life,
     I would attach you all and make you stoop
     Unto the sovereign mercy of the king;
     But since I cannot, be it known to you
     I do remain as neuter.

   • 1724, Charles Johnson [pseudonym], “Of Captain Avery, and His Crew”, in A General History of the Pyrates, […], 2nd edition, London: Printed for, and sold by T. Warner, […], →OCLC ↗, pages 59-60 ↗:

     [A]s their firſt Security, they did all they could to foment War betwixt the neighbouring Negroes, remaining Neuter themselves, by which Means, thoſe who were overcome conſtantly fled to them for Protection, otherwiſe they must be either killed or made Slaves.

2. (grammar) Having a form which is not masculine nor feminine; or having a form which is not of common gender.

   a neuter noun

   the neuter definite article

   a neuter termination

   the neuter gender

3. (grammar) Intransitive.

   Synonyms: intransitive

   a neuter verb

4. (biology) Sexless: having no or imperfectly developed sex organs.
   • 1859 November 23, Charles Darwin, “Instinct”, in On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, […], London: John Murray, […], →OCLC ↗, page 242 ↗:

     […] I should never have anticipated that natural selection could have been efficient in so high a degree, had not the case of these neuter insects convinced me of the fact.

5. (literary) Sexless, nonsexual.
6. (of an animal) Castrated; having had the reproductive organs removed.

• (biological) see sexless, genderless

• French: impartial
• German: neutral
• Portuguese: neutro
• Russian: нейтра́льный
• Spanish: neutral, neutro

• French: neutre
• German: neutrisch, sächlich, neutral, neuter (Latin declension, with Latin nouns)
• Italian: neutro
• Portuguese: neutro
• Russian: сре́дний
• Spanish: neutro

• German: intransitiv, neuter
• Italian: neutro
• Portuguese: intransitivo, neutro
• Russian: неперехо́дный
• Spanish: neutro

• French: asexuel
• German: geschlechtslos
• Portuguese: neutro
• Russian: беспо́лый
• Spanish: neutro

neuter (plural neuters)

1. (biology) An organism, either vegetable or animal, which at its maturity has no generative organs, or but imperfectly developed ones, as a plant without stamens or pistils, as the garden Hydrangea; especially, one of the imperfectly developed females of certain social insects, as of the ant and the common honeybee, which perform the labors of the community, and are called workers.
2. A person who takes no part in a contest; someone remaining neutral.
   • 1571, Arthur Golding, “Epistle Dedicatorie”, in The Psalmes of David and others. With M. John Calvins Commentaries‎:

     But if you should beecome eyther a counterfayt Protestant, or a perverse Papist, or a colde and carelesse newter (which God forbid) the harme could not be expressed which you should do to your native Cuntrie.

   • 1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], The Anatomy of Melancholy: […], 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC ↗, partition I, section 2, member 4, subsection iv:

     Friends, neuters, enemies, all are as one, to make a fool a madman is their sport […].

3. (grammar) The neuter gender.
4. (grammar) A noun of the neuter gender; any one of those words which have the terminations usually found in neuter words.
5. (grammar) An intransitive verb or state-of-being verb.
   • 1820, M. Santagnello, A Dictionary of the Peculiarities of the Italian Language, G. and W. B. Whittaker, page 185 ↗:

     Make one do, or act (to), fare fare, fare agire, with an accusative when the verb is a neuter, and with a dative when otherwise.

   • 1847, Brian Houghton Hodgson, Essay the First; On the Kocch, Bódo and Dhimál Tribes, in Three Parts, J. Thomas, page 119 ↗:

     Compound verbs other than those already spoken of whereby neuters are made active, are very rare, as I have already hinted under the head of nouns.

• French: neutre
• German: sächliches Geschlecht, Neutrum, neutrisches Geschlecht
• Portuguese: neutro
• Russian: сре́дний род

• German: Neutrum, sächliches Hauptwort, sächliches Substantiv, neutrisches Hauptwort, neutrisches Substantiv
• Portuguese: neutro

• Russian: неперехо́дный глаго́л

neuter (neuters, present participle neutering; simple past and past participle neutered)

1. (transitive) To remove sex organs from an animal to prevent it from having offspring; to castrate or spay, particularly as applied to domestic animals.
2. (transitive) To rid of sexuality.
3. (transitive) To drastically reduce the effectiveness of something.

   Congress neutered the bill by adding an exception for big corporations.

4. (transitive) To make grammatically neuter.

• castrate, desex, doctor, fix, spay

• French: castrer, châtrer
• German: verschneiden, kastrieren
• Italian: castrare
• Portuguese: castrar, capar
• Russian: кастри́ровать
• Spanish: castrar, capar