- at a short distance away
- A bomb exploded somewhere near.
- She took a step nearer.
- Visitors came from near and far.
- a short time away in the future
- The exams are drawing near.
- (especially in compounds) almost
- a near-perfect performance
- I'm as near certain as can be.
Word OriginMiddle English: from Old Norse nær ‘nearer’, comparative of ná, corresponding to Old English nēah ‘nigh’.
Idioms
See near in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee near in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic Englishas near as
- as accurately as
- There were about 3 000 people there, as near as I could judge.
as near as damn it/dammit
- (British English, informal) used to say that an amount is so nearly correct that the difference does not matter
- It will cost £350, or as near as dammit.
near enough
- (British English, informal) used to say that something is so nearly true that the difference does not matter
- We've been here twenty years, near enough.
not anywhere near/nowhere near
- far from; not at all
- The job doesn't pay anywhere near enough for me.
- Older cars are nowhere near as fuel-efficient as modern cars.
pretty near (North American English)
(British English pretty nearly)
(also pretty much/well British and North American English)
- (informal) almost; almost completely
- The first stage is pretty near finished.
so near and yet so far
- used to comment on something that was almost successful but in fact failedTopics Difficulty and failurec2
Check pronunciation:
near