net

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• adjective Remaining after all deductions have been made, as for expenses.
• adjective Remaining after tare is deducted.
• adjective Ultimate; final.
• noun Business A net amount, as of profit or weight.
• noun The main point; the essence.
• transitive verb To bring in or yield as profit.
• transitive verb To clear as profit.
• noun An openwork fabric made of threads or cords that are woven or knotted together at regular intervals.
• noun Something made of openwork fabric, especially.
• noun A device for capturing birds, fish, or insects.
• noun A barrier against flying insects.
• noun A mesh for holding the hair in place.
• noun Something that entraps; a snare.
• noun A fine mesh fabric used as curtain or dress material or as the foundation for various laces.
• noun A barrier of meshwork cord or rope strung between two posts to divide a court in half, as in tennis and badminton.
• noun A ball that is hit into this meshwork barrier.
• noun The goal in soccer, hockey, and lacrosse.
• noun The cord meshwork attached to the hoop of a basket in basketball.
• noun A meshed network of lines, figures, or fibers.
• noun Computers A complex, interconnected group or system, as.
• noun The Internet.
• noun A radio, television, or telephone network.
• transitive verb To catch or ensnare in a net.
• transitive verb To acquire or obtain.
• transitive verb To cover, protect, or surround with a net or network.
• transitive verb To hit (the ball) into the net, as in volleyball.
• transitive verb To shoot (the ball or puck) into the goal, as in soccer or hockey.
• transitive verb To score (a goal).

from The Century Dictionary.

• noun In cricket, an open fabric of twine placed so as to enable batsmen to practise without inconveniencing one another.
• noun In mining, a heavy leather harness used for lowering or raising horses in a shaft.
• noun An open textile fabric, of cotton, linen, hemp, silk, or other material, tied or woven with a mesh of any size, designed or used for catching animals alive, either by inclosing or by entangling them; a netting or network used as a snare or trap.
• noun Figuratively, a snare or device for entrapping or misleading in any way; a moral or mental trap or entanglement.
• noun A light open woven fabric, as gauze or muslin, worn or used its a protection from annoying insects: as, a mosquito- net spread over a bed.
• noun Machine-made lace of many kinds.
• noun A light open meshed bag for holding or confining the hair. Some are made of threads so fine that they are called invisible nets.
• noun Anything formed with interstices or meshes like a net.
• noun In anatomy and zoology, a reticulation or cancellation; a network of anastomosing or inosculating filaments or vessels; a web or mesh; a rete.
• noun In mathematics, a rectilinear figure drawn as follows.
• noun A machine-made ground imitating the above.
• Made of netting: as, a net fence.
• Resembling netting; having a structure which is like netting—that is, one which has open meshes, large in proportion to the thickness of the threads.
• Caught in a net; netted: as, net fish.
• Reticulate or cancellate; netted or net-veined, as an insect's wings.
• Decorative work done upon net, but not strictly needlework, as muslin appliqué (which see, under muslin).
• Clear; pure; unadulterated; neat: as, net (unadulterated) wines.
• Clear of anything extraneous; with all deductions (such as charges, expenses, discounts, commissions, taxes, etc.) made: as, net profits or earnings; net proceeds; net weight.