Netted

How to spell netted

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce netted

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does netted mean?

1. verbCaught, trapped, or secured something using a net.
2. verbGained or earned a given amount as clear profit after costs and deductions.

Netted in a sentence

• The trawler netted several tonnes of fish before dawn.

• After expenses, the bake sale netted almost four hundred pounds for the charity.

• The wildlife team netted several butterflies for the survey.

• The sale of the flat netted them a tidy sum once the agent's fees were paid.

Where does netted come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This is the past tense of the verb 'net', which traces back to the Old English noun 'net' (also spelled 'nett'), meaning a piece of open mesh fabric made for catching fish, birds, or game. The word belongs to a wide Germanic family, with close relatives in Dutch 'net' and German 'Netz', all descending from a shared root that meant something knotted or tied together, which is exactly what a net is. From the literal sense of trapping prey in mesh, English speakers extended the verb to mean 'to catch or secure', and by extension 'to gain or take in', which is why a business is said to 'net' a profit. That financial sense was reinforced by a separate adjective 'net', borrowed from French 'net' meaning 'clean' or 'clear', describing an amount left clear after deductions. The single t of the root doubles before the -ed ending because 'net' is a short, stressed syllable, the same rule that gives us 'fitted' and 'patted'.

How the word is built

• net (mesh fabric for catching)
• -t- (doubled consonant)
• -ed (past tense)