nearing
- 1Present participle and gerund of near.
The hikers were nearing the summit as dark clouds rolled in.
Nearing retirement, she began to plan her next chapter.
Note
A participle that works with or without an object, because the verb behind it does. With an object, it takes its destination directly, as in nearing the summit or nearing retirement, and needs no "to." Without one, the approaching thing is the subject: the deadline was nearing. Keep it apart from the adjective near. Nearing always describes movement toward something, never a settled closeness.
The storm was nearing, so the boats turned back to harbor.
With the deadline nearing, the office grew quiet.
nearing is a form of near
near, verb: To come closer to someone or something in space or time. Full entry
- Spelling
- near → nearing: add -ing
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