near
verb/nɪə(r)/
/nɪr/
[transitive, intransitive] (rather formal)Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they near | /nɪə(r)/ /nɪr/ |
| he / she / it nears | /nɪəz/ /nɪrz/ |
| past simple neared | /nɪəd/ /nɪrd/ |
| past participle neared | /nɪəd/ /nɪrd/ |
| -ing form nearing | /ˈnɪərɪŋ/ /ˈnɪrɪŋ/ |
- near (something) to come close to something in time or space synonym approach
- The project is nearing completion.
- She was nearing the end of her life.
- He must be nearing 40.
- We neared the top of the hill.
- As Christmas neared, the children became more and more excited.
Extra Examples- As she neared the door she slipped and fell.
- As the bus neared we could see someone waving.
- As we neared the island the cloud became thicker.
- He began to worry as the day of their visit neared.
- Her stay in New York was nearing its end.
- It was nearing midnight.
- Many of the teachers were nearing retirement.
- More troops were nearing the besieged city.
- She smiled as she neared the little group.
- We were obviously nearing the airport.
Oxford Collocations DictionaryNear is used with these nouns as the subject:- deadline
- climax
- coast
- completion
- …
Word OriginMiddle English: from Old Norse nær ‘nearer’, comparative of ná, corresponding to Old English nēah ‘nigh’.
Check pronunciation:
near