- [not usually before noun] near in space or time
- I had no idea the beach was so close.
- close to somebody/something Our new house is close to the school.
- The children are close to each other in age.
- She is looking for a job closer to home.
- close together The tables were too close together.
- Their birthdays are very close together.
- This is the closest we can get to the beach by car.
- We all have to work in close proximity (= near each other).
- Victory was tantalizingly close.
Which Word? near / closenear / close- The adjectives near and close are often the same in meaning, but in some phrases only one of them may be used:
- the near future
- a near neighbour
- a near miss
- a close contest
- a close encounter
- a close call.
- Close is more often used to describe a relationship between people:
- a close friend
- close family
- close links.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs- be
- come
- draw
- …
- extremely
- remarkably
- very
- …
- to
Definitions on the go
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- knowing somebody very well and liking them very much
- Jo is a very close friend.
- close to somebody She is very close to her father.
- She and her father are very close.
- We're a very close family.
Extra ExamplesTopics Family and relationshipsb1- The two sisters seemed very close.
- He was quite close to his older brother.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs- be
- feel
- seem
- …
- very
- quite
- to
- near in family relationship
- close relatives, such as your mother and father, and brothers and sisters
- The groom and his close family took their places.
- very involved in the work or activities of somebody else, usually seeing and talking to them regularly
- She has kept in close contact with the victims' families.
- They have forged a close working relationship.
- a retired army general with close ties to the military
- The college has close links with many other institutions.
- We work in close association with the ministry.
- Their survival depends on close cooperation.
- Even their closest allies were shocked by the move.
- He is one of the prime minister's closest advisers.
- We are in close touch with the police.
- [only before noun] careful and complete
- Take a close look at this photograph.
- On closer examination, the painting proved to be a fake.
- A close inspection reveals stunning attention to detail.
- Pay close attention to what I am telling you.
- [not before noun] almost in a particular state; likely to do something soon
- close to something The airline is close to collapse.
- He was close to tears.
- The species is dangerously close to extinction.
- The new library is close to completion.
- She knew she was close to death.
- close to doing something We are close to signing the agreement.
- very similar to something else or to an amount
- There's a close resemblance between them (= they look very similar).
- close to something This movie is about as close to perfect as you could wish for.
- Their chances of winning are close to zero.
- His feeling for her was close to hatred.
- The total was close to 20% of the workforce.
- It was the closest thing to a home she had ever known.
- We tried to match the colours, but this is the closest we could get.
Extra Examples- The unemployment rate was close to 20% of the workforce.
- The book bears a close resemblance to her earlier work.
- won by only a small amount or distance
- a close match/contest/election
- It was pretty close but we lost.
- Our team came a close second (= nearly won).
- No one expected such a close finish.
- The game was closer than the score suggests.
- The result is going to be too close to call (= either side may win).
Extra Examples- The organizers of the race are predicting a close finish.
- It's a desperately close race—I can't quite see who is ahead.
- The California election looks too close to call as voters go to the polls.
- I think it's going to be close.
- used to describe something, usually a dangerous or unpleasant situation, that nearly happens
- Phew! That was close—that car nearly hit us.
- We caught the bus in the end but it was close (= we nearly missed it).
- with little or no space in between
- over 1 000 pages of close print
- The soldiers advanced in close formation.
- cut very short, near to the skin
- a close haircut/shave
- [only before noun] carefully guarded
- The donor's identity is a close secret.
- She was kept under close arrest.
- warm in an uncomfortable way because there does not seem to be enough fresh air synonym stuffy
- It’s very close today—I think there’s going to be a storm.
- close (about something) not willing to give personal information about yourself
- He was close about his past.
- close (with something) not liking to spend money
- She's always been very close with her money.
- (also high)(of a vowel) produced with part of the tongue in the highest possible position without limiting the flow of air compare open (21)
near
relationship
careful
almost/likely
similar
competition/election, etc.
almost bad result
without space
cut short
guarded
weather/room
private
mean
phonetics
Word OriginMiddle English: from Old French clos (as noun and adjective), from Latin clausum ‘enclosure’ and clausus ‘closed’, past participle of claudere.
Idioms
See close in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee close in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic Englishat/from close quarters
- very near
- fighting at close quarters
at/from close range
- from only a short distance away
- The president was shot at close range.
- She scored from close range.
(close/near) at hand
- close to you in time or distance
- Help was at hand.
- The property is ideally located with all local amenities close at hand.
close, but no cigar
- (informal) used to tell somebody that their attempt or guess was almost but not quite successfulTopics Doubt, guessing and certaintyc2, Difficulty and failurec2
a close call/shave
- (informal) a situation in which you only just manage to avoid an accident, etc.
- He had a close shave when his brakes failed on the mountain road.
a close thing
- a situation in which success or failure is equally possible
- We got him out in the end, but it was a close thing.
close/dear/near to somebody’s heart
- having a lot of importance and interest for somebody
close to home
- if a remark or topic of discussion is close to home, it is accurate or connected with you in a way that makes you uncomfortable or embarrassed
- Her remarks about me were embarrassingly close to home.
- that involves somebody directly
- The next year tragedy struck much closer to home.
keep a close eye/watch on somebody/something
- to watch somebody/something carefully
- Over the next few months we will keep a close eye on sales.
too close for comfort
- so near that it is uncomfortable or dangerous
- When she leaves the stage, the fans can get a little too close for comfort.
- (figurative) They got the win but it was a tight match, definitely too close for comfort.
up close and personal
- physically very close to somebody; getting to know them well
- Get up close and personal with the koalas at the San Diego Zoo.
- For the last 30 years, I’ve been up close and personal with people whose lives were in crisis.
Check pronunciation:
close2