1
[ pronoun ] preposition, at the side of, or in close proximity to
2
[ adjective ] not far distant in time or space or degree or circumstances

Synonyms

close

Examples

"near neighbors" "in the near future" "they are near equals" "his nearest approach to success" "a very near thing" "a near hit by the bomb" "she was close to tears" "had a close call"

Used in print

(Orlin J. Scoville, Part-Time Farming...)

A tavern , filling_station , junk_yard , rendering plant , or some other business may go_up near enough to hurt your home or to hurt its value .

(James Boylan, "Mutinity"...)

On the third voyage , a near mutiny rising from a quarrel between Dutch and English crew_members on the Half_Moon had almost forced him to head the ship back to Amsterdam in mid Atlantic .

(John F. Hayward, "Mimesis and Symbol in the Arts"...)

Mimesis is the nearest possible thing to the actual re-living of experience , in which the imagining person recovers through images something of the force and depth characteristic of experience itself .

(Dan McLachlan, Jr., "Communication Networks and...)

We assume for this illustration that the size of the land plots is so great that the distance between dwellings is greater than the voice can carry and that most_of the communication is between nearest neighbors only , as shown in Figure 2 .

Information beyond nearest neighbor is carried second - , third - , and fourth hand as a distortable rumor .

3
[ adverb ] near in time or place or relationship

Synonyms

close nigh

Examples

"as the wedding day drew near" "stood near the door" "don't shoot until they come near" "getting near to the true explanation" "her mother is always near" "The end draws nigh" "the bullet didn't come close"

Used in print

(High Fidelity, 11:10...)

Yet you feel the orchestra is near at_hand , and the individual instruments have the same firm presence associated with listening from a good seat in an acoustically perfect hall .

(Edwin L. Bigelow and Nancy H. Otis,...)

Telephone_wires from Louis_Dufresne 's house in East_Manchester to the Dufresne lumber job near Bourn_Pond were up about 1895 .

(Robert A. Futterman, The Future of Our Cities....)

The big factories which are relatively near the centers of our cities - the rubber factories in Akron , Chrysler 's Detroit plants , U._S._Steel 's Pittsburgh works - often began on these sites at_a_time when that was the edge of the city , yet close to transport ( river ) , storage ( piers ) and power ( river ) .

(William Maxwell, The Chateau....)

`` There 's a big boat anchored near the Place_de_la_Concorde , with a swimming_pool in it - did n't you notice it ?

(Stephen Longstreet, Eagles Where I Walk....)

Or was it her own first ball as mistress of this big house , a Van_Rensselaer bride from way upstate near Albany , from Rensselaerwyck .

4
[ verb ] move towards

Examples

"We were approaching our destination" "They are drawing near" "The enemy army came nearer and nearer"

Used in print

(The Sun, [Baltimore],...)

Richard_M._Forbes 's Paget , which had what seemed to be a substantial lead in the early stages , tired rapidly nearing the wire and was able to save place money only a head in_front of Glen_T._Hallowell 's Milties_Miss .

(Glayds H. Barr, The Master of Geneva....)

As he neared the square , a round figure muffled in a long , black cape whisked_by .

5
[ adverb ] (of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished

Examples

"the job is (just) about done" "the baby was almost asleep" "we're almost finished" "the car all but ran her down" "he nearly fainted" "well-nigh perfect" "virtually everyone"

Used in print

(The Atlanta Constitution...)

Meanwhile , it was learned the State_Highway_Department is very near being ready to issue the first $ 30 million worth of highway reconstruction bonds .

6
[ adjective ] being on the left side

Synonyms

nigh

Examples

"the near or nigh horse is the one on the left" "the animal's left side is its near or nigh side"

Related terms

left

7
[ adjective ] with or in a close or intimate relationship

Synonyms

good dear

Examples

"a good friend" "my sisters and brothers are near and dear"

Related terms

close

8
[ adjective ] very close in resemblance

Synonyms

approximate

Examples

"sketched in an approximate likeness" "a near likeness"

Related terms

close

9
[ pronoun ] preposition, proximity

Synonyms

about close_to

10
[ adjective ] closely resembling the genuine article

Examples

"near beer" "a dress of near satin"

Related terms

artificial

11
[ adjective ] giving or spending with reluctance

Examples

"our cheeseparing administration" "very close (or near) with his money" "a penny-pinching miserly old man"

Related terms

stingy

12
[ noun ] Last name, frequency rank in the U.S. is 13203
13
[ adjective ] (comparative of `close') indicating the one of two that is the shorter distance away

Synonyms

closer

Examples

"take the near street and ten turn right"

Related terms

close

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