# close

Pronunciation: say "KLOHZ" US /kloʊz/, UK /kləʊz/

## Adjective

Pronunciation: say "KLOHS" US /kloʊs/, UK /kləʊs/

1. At a small distance away; near in space or in time.
   - Simple: Only a short distance away in space or time.
   - _The hotel was close to the beach, only a short walk away._
   - _The two anniversaries fell close together on the calendar._
4. Intimately connected with someone, as a trusted friend or near family member is.
   - Simple: Sharing a strong personal bond with someone, like a trusted friend or a member of your family.
   - _The two brothers remained close throughout their lives._
   - _She relied on a small circle of close confidants._
6. Very nearly reaching a goal, state or outcome, including narrowly escaping something bad.
   - Simple: Almost getting or reaching something, or only just avoiding something bad, as in 'that was close!'.
   - _She came close to solving the puzzle before giving up._
   - _The team was close to the record but fell short._
7. Nearly equal; almost evenly balanced or matching.
   - Simple: Almost equal, with very little difference between the two sides.
   - _The match stayed close until the final minute._
   - _Polls show a close contest between the two candidates._
9. Involving a tight connection, with frequent communication or shared, cooperative activity.
   - Simple: Involving a strong connection and frequent contact or teamwork.
   - _The agencies maintain close cooperation on security matters._
   - _The two hospitals worked in close cooperation during the flu outbreak, sharing staff and supplies every day._
14. Very nearly exact or faithful to the original or to what is correct.
   - Simple: Almost exactly right or the same, as in 'a close copy' or 'a close guess'.
   - _The painting is such a close copy of the original that even experts struggled to tell them apart._
   - _Her rough count gave a close estimate of how many people attended the rally._
15. Done with careful, strict and thorough attention to detail.
   - Simple: Very careful and paying attention to every detail, as in 'a close look' or 'close watch'.
   - _The prisoner was held under close guard throughout the trial._
   - _Her close supervision ensured no detail of the experiment went unchecked._
18. Tight, with little space separating the parts or elements.
   - Simple: Packed tightly together with very little space in between.
   - _The troops advanced in close ranks across the open field._
   - _A close weave makes the cloth almost waterproof._
22. Stuffy and oppressive, with no moving air, leaving one feeling drained.
   - Simple: Stuffy and airless, making you feel tired and uncomfortable.
   - _The air grew close and heavy as the storm built over the valley._
   - _By midday the crowded tent had become unbearably close._
26. Short, especially of hair or grass that has been trimmed down near the skin or the ground.
   - Simple: Short, especially of hair or grass that has been cut.
   - _The sheep had grazed the hillside down to a close, springy turf._
   - _Every recruit in the unit wore his hair in a close crop that showed the scalp._

## Verb

2. To move something, such as a door, lid, eyes or a valve, so that it covers an opening or leaves no gap; to shut.
   - Simple: To shut something, such as a door, a box, your eyes or a tap, so it is no longer open.
   - _Close the lid firmly so that no air escapes._
   - _She closed the curtains so the early sun wouldn't wake the baby._
3. Of a business, place or service, to stop operating or stop being open to the public, for the day or for good; or to make it do so.
   - Simple: To stop being open or working, for the day or for ever, or to make a place do that.
   - _The subway lines close after midnight._
   - _The clinic closed permanently last spring._
5. To come to an end, or to bring something such as a meeting or speech to an end.
   - Simple: To end, or to finish something, as in 'she closed the meeting with a thank-you'.
   - _She likes to close every team meeting by asking whether anyone has questions._
   - _The festival closed with fireworks over the river, and the crowd slowly drifted home._
10. To shut an application, window, file, or database connection so that it is no longer open or in use.
   - Simple: To shut down a program, window, or file on a computer.
   - _Remember to close the database connection when the query finishes._
   - _The app crashed because it failed to close the open file properly._
11. To obstruct or block a passage or opening.
   - Simple: To block a way or opening so nothing can pass.
   - _Drifting sand can close the narrow channel between the two islands within a single season._
   - _Thick ice closed the harbor entrance for weeks, trapping the fishing boats inside._
12. To bring a sale or business deal to a successful conclusion.
   - Simple: To finish making a sale or business deal.
   - _Top agents can close several deals in a single afternoon._
   - _After weeks of phone calls, the agent finally closed the sale on the lake house just before winter._
16. To carry out the end-of-day tasks, like locking up, that ready a shop to shut for the night.
   - Simple: To finish the daily tasks and shut a shop at the end of the day.
   - _New employees learn how to close before they handle the morning shift._
   - _The manager always closes alone on weekends._
19. Of a share, currency, commodity, or market index, to end a trading day at a given price or level.
   - Simple: Of a stock, money, or a market, to end a day of buying and selling at a certain price or level.
   - _The Dow closed down 300 points after the central bank's announcement._
   - _Traders expect the euro to close near its lowest level of the week._
21. To make or become unwilling to accept new ideas, feelings, or people.
   - Simple: To stop being open to new ideas, people, or feelings.
   - _Repeated betrayals can close a person's heart to genuine kindness._
   - _She tends to close off whenever the conversation turns personal._

## Noun

8. The end or conclusion of an event or period of time.
   - Simple: The point when something ends or finishes.
   - _The festival drew to a close with a spectacular fireworks display._
   - _By the close of the financial year, profits had doubled._
20. The price of a share or commodity, or a market index's level, when a trading session ends.
   - Simple: The price of a stock, or the level of the market, when buying and selling stops for the day.
   - _Shares opened 5 percent above Tuesday's close after the earnings report._
   - _The index ended the week at 4,512, its highest weekly close in a year._
23. A short residential street that ends in a dead end. *(British)* (pronounced: say "KLOHS" US /kloʊs/, UK /kləʊs/)
   - Simple: A short street that is shut off at one end.
   - _Their new house sits at the end of a leafy close in the suburbs._
   - _Every house in the close opens onto a shared green._
24. The enclosed grounds around a cathedral, often lined with the houses of its clergy. (pronounced: say "KLOHS" US /kloʊs/, UK /kləʊs/)
   - Simple: The land inside the walls around a cathedral, often with houses for its priests.
   - _The dean's house stands on the north side of the close, facing the cathedral's west front._
   - _Tourists wander the close by day, but at night its gates shut and the canons have it to themselves._
25. In Scotland, a narrow alley or passage between buildings, or the shared entrance and staircase of a tenement. *(dialectal, Scotland)* (pronounced: say "KLOHS" US /kloʊs/, UK /kləʊs/)
   - Simple: In Scotland, a narrow lane between buildings, or the stairs and entrance shared by all the homes in a tenement.
   - _The kids played in the close until their mums shouted them up for their tea._
   - _Everyone in the close turned out to help when the old man fell on the stairs._

## Adverb

Pronunciation: say "KLOHS" US /kloʊs/, UK /kləʊs/

13. In a manner that leaves little distance or space between objects.
   - Simple: In a way that leaves only a small space between things.
   - _The two boats moored close alongside the dock for the night._
   - _She held the child close as the crowd surged forward._
17. Carefully and in detail, paying attention to every part.
   - Simple: In a careful way, looking at all the small parts.
   - _Watch close as the magician slips the card into his sleeve._
   - _If you watch close, you can see the magician slip the card into his sleeve._

## Other meanings

- (noun) The point in time when check-in staff stop accepting passengers for a flight.
- (adjective) Pronounced with the tongue raised high toward the roof of the mouth, leaving only a narrow gap for the air.
- (verb) To fill up and grow thicker, with things packed nearer together.
- (verb) Of a switch or contact, to shift into the position that completes a circuit so current can pass.
- (verb) To come to grips with an opponent and fight at very short range.
- (verb) To turn the face of a golf club, bat or racket so it points down or, for a right-handed player, to the left.
- (verb) To be the last act to appear at a show, concert or festival.
- (verb) Of a relief pitcher, to come in and get the last outs of a game, normally three.
- (verb) To end an open investment by making the opposite trade, so it no longer gains or loses value.
- (verb) To stop a light or device from running, as in 'close the lights'.
- (verb) To surround something on all sides, as water or darkness does.
- (verb) Of a set of measured lines or vectors, to add up to zero, so they meet to make a complete shape.
- (noun) The way something shuts, or the place where two parts meet and join.
- (noun) The final stage of a sales conversation, when the seller asks the customer to commit to buying.
- (noun) A hold in which wrestlers grip each other.
- (noun) The ending of a musical phrase or passage, where it comes to rest.
- (noun) Two vertical lines on a musical staff that show where a piece finishes.
- (adjective) Cramped and narrow, with little room to move.
- (adjective) Kept under tight guard or confinement, as a prisoner is.
- (adjective) Offered or open to only a few, with access tightly limited.
- (adjective) Of a company, owned by a small number of shareholders and not traded on the open market.
- (adjective) Not open, with any opening covered or sealed.
- (adjective) Of a bird shown on a coat of arms, having its wings folded against its body.
- (adjective) Hard to come by, as money is when loans are scarce.
- (adjective) Unwilling to spend or give away money.
- (adjective) Kept out of sight or away from others, hidden or private.
- (adjective) Brief and direct, with no wasted words.
- (noun) Land with a wall, hedge or fence around it, especially the grounds of a church or other place of worship.
- (noun) A very narrow passage running between buildings, often with an upper story built over it.
- (noun) A person's legal right in a piece of land, whether or not it is fenced.

## Origin

**Meanings 2–3, 5, 8, 10–12, 16, 19–21** — This comes partly from Middle English 'closen' and 'clusen', going back to Old English 'clȳsan' ("to close, shut"), and partly from the adjective 'clos' ("shut up, confined"), borrowed from Old French, from Latin 'clausus', the past participle of 'claudere' ("to close, confine, bring to an end"). It is a doublet of 'clause' and is related to Latin 'clāvis' ("key") and German 'schließen'.
**Meanings 1, 4, 6–7, 9, 13–15, 17–18, 22–26** — Latin claudō ("to close") had a participle, clausum, that developed into French clos, and English took the word from French.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/close (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).