Dictionary Definition
near adj
1 not far distant in time or space or degree or
circumstances; "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 near tears"; "she was
close to tears"; "had a close call" [syn: close] [ant: far]
2 being on the left side; "the near or nigh horse
is the one on the left"; "the animal's left side is its near or
nigh side" [syn: near(a), nigh(a)]
3 closely resembling the genuine article; "near
beer"; "a dress of near satin"
4 giving or spending with reluctance; "our
cheeseparing administration"; "very close (or near) with his
money"; "a penny-pinching miserly old man" [syn: cheeseparing, close, penny-pinching]
5 with or in a close or intimate relationship; "a
good friend"; "my sisters and brothers are near and dear" [syn:
dear, good]
6 very close in resemblance; "sketched in an
approximate likeness"; "a near likeness" [syn: approximate] adv
1 near in time or place or relationship; "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"; "don't get too close to the fire" [syn: nigh, close]
2 (of actions or states) slightly short of or not
quite accomplished; `near' is sometimes used informally for
`nearly' and `most' is sometimes used informally for `almost'; "the
job is (just) about done"; "the baby was almost asleep when the
alarm sounded"; "we're almost finished"; "the car all but ran her
down"; "he nearly fainted"; "talked for nigh onto 2 hours"; "the
recording is well-nigh perfect"; "virtually all the parties signed
the contract"; "I was near exhausted by the run"; "most everyone
agrees" [syn: about,
just
about, almost,
most, all but, nearly, nigh, virtually, well-nigh] v :
move towards; "We were approaching our destination"; "They are
drawing near"; "The enemy army came nearer and nearer" [syn:
approach, come on, go up, draw near,
draw
close, come
near]
User Contributed Dictionary
English
Etymology
Middle English from Old Norse nærAdjective
en-adj er- In the context of "of an animate or inanimate object": physically close.
- In the context of "of an event": approaching
- The end is near.
Antonyms
Translations
physically close
- Arabic: (qarīb)
- Chinese: 近 (jìn)
- Czech: blízký
- Esperanto: proksima
- Finnish: läheinen
- French: près, proche
- German: nahe
- Hungarian: közel
- Ido: proxim
- Italian: vicino
- Japanese: 近い (ちかい, chikai)
- Korean: 가깝다 (gakkapda)
- Kurdish:
- Sorani: نزیک
- Old English: neah
- Polish: bliski
- Portuguese: perto, próximo
- Russian: близкий
- Scottish Gaelic: dlùth
- Spanish: cerca
- Swedish: nära
- Telugu: దగ్గర (daggara)
- Venetian: vissin
- Vietnamese: gần
Adverb
en-adv er- Having a small intervening distance with regard to something.
- I'm near sighted.
- nearly
- 1666 Samuel Pepys Diary and Correspondence (1867)
- ...he hears for certain that the Queen-Mother is about and hath near finished a peace with France....
- 1825 David Hume, Tobias George Smollett The History of England
p. 263
- Sir John Friend had very near completed a regiment of horse.
- 2003 Owen Parry Honor's Kingdom p. 365
- Thinking about those pounds and pence, I near forgot my wound.
- 2004 Jimmy Buffett A Salty Piece of Land p. 315, p. 35
- "I damn near forgot." He pulled an envelope from his jacket.
- 2006 Juliet Marillier The Dark Mirror p. 377
- The fire was almost dead, the chamber near dark.
- 1666 Samuel Pepys Diary and Correspondence (1867)
Translations
Having a small intervening distance with regard
to something.
- Arabic: (qarīb)
- Chinese: 近 (jìn)
- Dutch: nabij, bij, naverwant, dierbaar
- Finnish: lähellä
- French: près
- German: nah
- Hebrew: קרוב, ליד
- Ido: apud
- Italian: circa
- Japanese: 近く (ちかく, chikaku), 近くに (ちかくに, chikaku ni)
- Korean: 가까이 (gakkai)
- Kurdish:
- Old English: neah
- Polish: blisko
- Portuguese: perto
- Spanish: cerca
- Telugu: దగ్గరగా (daggaragaa)
- Vietnamese: gần
Preposition
Antonyms
Translations
in close proximity to
- Arabic: (‘inda)
- French: près de
- Kurdish: , ,
- Old English: neah
- Spanish: cerca de
- Vietnamese: gần
Verb
- To decrease the distance to something.
Translations
decrease distance
- Czech: blížit
- Dutch: naderen, dichterbijkomen
- Finnish: lähestyä
- French: approcher
- Icelandic: nálgast
- Italian: avvicinare
- Kurdish:
- Sorani: نزیک بوونهوه
- Portuguese: aproximar
- Spanish: aproximar, acercar
Extensive Definition
Near may refer to:
In vowels:
See also:
- List of nearest stars
- List of nearest bright stars
- List of nearest galaxies
- distance
- far
- Near is also a character in Death Note (see List of Death Note characters).
near in French: NEAR
near in Japanese: ニア
Synonyms, Antonyms and Related Words
about,
about to be, abutting,
accost, adjacent, adjoining, advance, advancing, all but, almost, along toward, already in
sight, among, angustifoliate, angustirostrate,
angustisellate,
angustiseptal,
anticipate, ape, appear like, approach, approaching, appropinquate, approximate, approximating, approximative, arm-in-arm,
around, as good as,
aside, at, at close quarters, at hand, at
next hand, attached,
attracted to, avaricious, await, be destined, be fated, be
imminent, be in store, be like, be redolent of, be to be, be to
come, bear down on, bear down upon, bear resemblance, bear up,
beside, bordering on,
brew, brewing, bring to mind, burning, by, call to mind, call up, cheap, cheek-by-jowl, circa, circumscribed, close, close about, close at hand,
close by, close in, close to, close upon, close with, close-by,
close-fitting, closefisted, closely, come, come close, come closer, come
forward, come near, come on, come up, coming, comparable, compare with,
confined, confront, connected, constricted, contiguous, converge, copy, correspond, counterclockwise,
counterfeit,
cramp, cramped, crowded, draw near, draw nigh,
draw on, drawn to, encounter, equal, evoke, expect, face, familiar, fast by, favor, follow, foresee, foretell, forthcome, forthcoming, from, future, gain upon, gather, gathering, going to happen,
hairbreadth, hand
and glove, hand-in-hand, hang over, hard, hard by, hard on, hardfisted, hereabout, hereabouts, homologous, hope, hot, hover, illiberal, imitate, immediate, imminent, impend, impendent, impending, in, in danger imminent, in prospect,
in reserve, in spitting distance, in store, in the cards, in the
offing, in the wind, in view, incapacious, incommodious, inseparable, instant, intimate, isthmian, isthmic, just about, larboard, lean towards,
left, left-hand, left-wing,
left-wingish, levorotatory, liberal, lie ahead, lie over,
like, limited, look for, look forward
to, look like, loom,
looming, lower, lowering, lurking, match, meager, mean, menace, menacing, mimic, mirror, miserly, much at one, much the
same, narrow, narrow the
gap, near at hand, near the mark, near to, near upon, nearabout, nearabouts, nearby, nearing, nearish, nearly, nearly reproduce, nearly
the same, next door to, next to, niggardly, nigh, nigh about, nighhand, nighish, not far, not far from,
not quite, not tell apart, on, on the horizon, oncoming, only a step, overhang, overhanging, parallel, parsimonious, partake of,
penny-pinching, penurious, pinchfisted, pinching, plan, plot, port, predict, preparing, pretty near,
project, prophesy, propinque, proximal, proximate, quasi, radical, relatable, related, relative, remind one of,
resemble, restricted, rival, round, same but different,
save-all, savor of, scant,
scanty, seem like,
selfish, side-by-side,
sidle up to, similar,
simulate, sinister, sinistral, sinistrocerebral,
sinistrocular,
sinistrogyrate,
sinistrorse,
slender, smack of, sound
like, stack up with, step up, stingy, strait, suggest, take after, that will
be, thereabout,
thereabouts,
thick, thick as thieves,
threaten, threatening, tight, tight-fisted, tightfisted, to, to come, touch, toward, ungenerous, upcoming, verge on, verging on,
verging upon, vicinal,
virtually, waiting, warm, well-nigh, with, within call, within earshot,
within hearing, within reach, within sight