neither

nei|ther¹ W3 [ˈnaıðə US ˈni:ðər] determiner, pron

not one or the other of two people or things

→↑either

▪ 'Would you like tea or coffee?' 'Neither, thanks.'

▪ It was a game in which neither team deserved to win.

neither of

▪ Neither of them can cook.

▪ Thompson had two strategies, neither of which seems to have worked very well.

▪ We asked both John and Jerry, but neither one could offer a satisfactory explanation.

see usage note ↑none¹

neither ²

neither² W3S2 adv

used to show that a negative statement is also true about another person or thing

→↑either

neither does/can/will etc sb

▪ 'I don't have any money.' 'Neither do I.'

▪ Tom didn't believe a word she said, and neither did the police.

▪ 'I don't like horror movies.' ' Me neither .'

neither ³

neither³ conj

1.) neither ... nor ...

used when mentioning two things that are not true or possible

▪ Neither Oleg's mother nor his father spoke English.

▪ The equipment is neither accurate nor safe.

2.) be neither here nor there

spoken used to say that something is not important because it does not affect a fact or situation

= ↑irrelevant

▪ The fact that she needed the money for her children is neither here nor there - it's still stealing.

3.) be neither one thing nor the other

spoken used to say that something or someone cannot be described as either one of two types of thing or person, but is somewhere in the middle of the two

▪ The New York Times is neither one thing nor the other. It's not really a city newspaper and it's not really a national newspaper either.

4.) formal used to add another negative statement about someone or something

= ↑nor

▪ The authorities were not sympathetic to the students' demands, neither would they tolerate any disruption.

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HINT sense 1

Do not say 'neither ...or ...'. Say not ...or ... or neither ...nor ...: We don't know or care where he is. |Neither he nor his wife eats meat.

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