neuter

Everyday

1. To neuter a pet animal is to have a vet do an operation so it can't have babies. tree →
2. (grammar) Neuter means neither masculine nor feminine; some languages, like German, have neuter nouns. tree →
3. Neuter can mean having no sex organs, like worker bees. tree →

In the lessons

In everyday life about pets (neutering cats and dogs). In language lessons about grammatical gender in German, Latin and Ukrainian.

Examples

• We had our cat neutered at the vet. tree →
• Neutering helps stop too many stray kittens. tree →
• In German, «das Kind» is neuter. tree →
• English nouns don't have neuter gender in grammar. tree →
• Worker ants are neuter. tree →
• The vet neuters dogs on Tuesdays. tree →

Note

Past: neutered. Do not confuse with «neutral» (not taking sides). «Neutered» animals are often called «spayed» (females) or «castrated» (males).