near

near
I. adverb Etymology: Middle English ner, partly from ner nearer, from Old English nēar, comparative of nēah nigh; partly from Old Norse nær nearer, comparative of nā- nigh — more at nigh Date: 13th century 1. at, within, or to a short distance or time <
sunset was drawing near
>
2. almost, nearly <
was near dead
>
3. in a close or intimate manner ; closely <
near related
>
4. archaic in a frugal manner II. preposition Date: 13th century close to <
beaches near the city
>
<
seemed to be near death
>
III. adjective Date: 14th century 1. a. not far distant in time, place, or degree <
in the near future
>
b. almost happening ; narrowly missed or avoided <
a near win in the primary
>
<
a near midair collision
>
c. nearly not happening <
a near escape
>
2. closely related or intimately associated <
her nearest and dearest friend
>
3. a. being the closer of two <
the near side
>
b. being the left-hand one of a pair <
the near wheel of a cart
>
4. direct, short <
the nearest road
>
5. stingy, closefisted 6. a. closely resembling the standard or typical <
a near desert
>
b. approximating the genuine <
near silk
>
nearness noun IV. verb Date: 1513 approach

New Collegiate Dictionary. 2001.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую
Synonyms:

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Near — or Near may refer to: Contents 1 Science, mathematics, technology, biology, and medicine 2 Geography 3 Lingu …   Wikipedia

  • Near — Near, a. [Compar. {Nearer}; superl. {Nearest}.] [See {Near}, adv.] 1. Not far distant in time, place, or degree; not remote; close at hand; adjacent; neighboring; nigh. As one near death. Shak. [1913 Webster] He served great Hector, and was ever… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • near — [nir] adv. [ME nere < ON & OE: ON nær, near (orig. compar. of nā ): OE near, nearer, compar. of neah, NIGH] 1. at or to a relatively short distance in space or time [summer draws near] 2. relatively close in degree; almost: now usually nearly… …   English World dictionary

  • Near — (n[=e]r), adv. [AS. ne[ a]r, compar. of ne[ a]h nigh. See {Nigh}.] 1. At a little distance, in place, time, manner, or degree; not remote; nigh. [1913 Webster] My wife! my traitress! let her not come near me. Milton. [1913 Webster] 2. Nearly;… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • near — near; near·ish; near·ly; near·most; near·ness; near·sight·ed·ly; near·sight·ed·ness; …   English syllables

  • near — near, nearly Near has almost fallen out of use as an adverb meaning ‘almost’, and nearly serves this purpose: He was nearly dead with fright. Exceptions include near complete and near perfect: • Gunnell, captain of the British women s team,… …   Modern English usage

  • near- — /nēr / combining form Denoting almost, as in nearˈ white of a colour closely resembling white, and nearˈ silkˈ artificial silk * * * near UK [nɪə(r)] US [nɪr] prefix almost used with many nouns and adjectives It’s a near certainty (=it will… …   Useful english dictionary

  • NEAR — ist der Familienname folgender Personen: Holly Near (* 1949), US amerikanische Sängerin NEAR ist die Abkürzung für: Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous, eine US amerikanische Raumsonde, siehe NEAR Shoemaker Diese Seite ist eine …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • near — [adj1] close by physically abreast, abutting, adjacent, adjoining, alongside, along toward, approximal, around, at close quarters, available, beside, bordering, burning, close, close at hand, close by, close shave*, conterminous, contiguous,… …   New thesaurus

  • Near — Near, prep. Adjacent to; close by; not far from; nigh; as, the ship sailed near the land. See the Note under {near}, a. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Near — Near, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Neared}; p. pr. & vb. n {Nearing}.] [See {Near}, adv.] To approach; to come nearer; as, the ship neared the land. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”