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Definition of near preposition from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

near

preposition
 
 
/nɪə(r)/
 
/nɪr/
(also near to, nearer (to), nearest (to))
Near to is not usually used before the name of a place, person, festival, etc.Idioms
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  1.  
     at a short distance away from somebody/something
    • Do you live near here?
    • Go and sit nearer (to) the fire.
    Which Word? next / nearestnext / nearest
    • (The) next means ‘after this/​that one’ in time or in a series of events, places or people:
      • When is your next appointment?
      • Turn left at the next traffic lights.
      • Who’s next?
      (The) nearest means ‘closest’ in space:
      • Where’s the nearest supermarket?
    • Notice the difference between the prepositions nearest to and next to:
      • Janet’s sitting nearest to the window (= of all the people in the room).
      • Sarah’s sitting next to the window (= right beside it).
      In informal British English nearest can be used instead of nearest to:
      • Who’s sitting nearest the door?
  2.  
     a short period of time from something
    • My birthday is very near Christmas.
    • I’ll think about it nearer (to) the time (= when it is just going to happen).
    Topics Timeb1
  3.  
     used before a number to mean ‘approximately’, ‘just below or above’
    • Share prices are near their record high of last year.
    • Profits fell from $11 million to nearer $8 million.
  4.  
     similar to somebody/something in quality, size, etc.
    • Nobody else comes near her in intellect.
    • He's nearer 70 than 60.
    • This colour is nearest (to) the original.
  5.  
     near (doing) something close to a particular state
    • a state near (to) death
    • She was near to tears (= almost crying).
    • We came near to being killed.
Idioms
(close/near) at hand
  1. close to you in time or distance
    • Help was at hand.
    • The property is ideally located with all local amenities close at hand.
be close to/near the mark
  1. to be fairly accurate in a guess, statement, etc.
    • Such guesses are thought to be close to the mark.
    • ‘The Times’ was nearer the mark when it said…
    Topics Doubt, guessing and certaintyc2
close/dear/near to somebody’s heart
  1. having a lot of importance and interest for somebody
See near in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee near in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English
Check pronunciation: near

Nearby words

trait
noun
 
 
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