Link Centre Dictionary

near

UK/nɪə/ US/nɪə̯/ very common uk
adjective (6) adverb (2) verb (1)

adjective

1.

not far distant in time or space or degree or circumstances

  • “near neighbors”
  • “in the near future”
  • “they are near equals”
  • “his nearest approach to success”
  • “a very near thing”
  • “a near hit by the bomb”
  • “she was near tears”
  • “she was close to tears”
  • “had a close call”
Synonyms
Antonyms
Similar
2.

being on the left side

  • “the near or nigh horse is the one on the left”
  • “the animal”
Synonyms
Similar
3.

closely resembling the genuine article

  • “near beer”
  • “a dress of near satin”
Similar
4.

giving or spending with reluctance

  • “our cheeseparing administration”
  • “very close (or near) with his money”
  • “a penny-pinching miserly old man”
Synonyms
Similar
5.

with or in a close or intimate relationship

  • “a good friend”
  • “my sisters and brothers are near and dear”
Synonyms
Similar
6.

very close in resemblance

  • “sketched in an approximate likeness”
  • “a near likeness”
Synonyms
Similar

adverb

1.

near in time or place or relationship

  • “as the wedding day drew near”
  • “stood near the door”
  • “don”
  • “;”
  • “;”
  • “;”
  • “;”
  • “t come close”
  • “don”
Synonyms
2.

verb

1.

move towards

  • “We were approaching our destination”
  • “They are drawing near”
  • “The enemy army came nearer and nearer”
Synonyms

Origin

From Middle English nere, ner, from Old English nēar (“nearer”, comparative of nēah (“nigh”), the superlative would become next), influenced by Old Norse nær (“near”), both originating from Proto-Germanic *nēhwiz (“nearer”), comparative of the adverb *nēhw (“near”), from the adjective *nēhwaz, ultimately from Pre-Proto-Germanic *h₂nḗḱwos, a lengthened-grade adjective derived from Proto-Indo-European *h₂neḱ- (“to reach”). Cognates Cognate with North Frisian nai, noi, näi (“close, near”), Saterland Frisian nai (“close, near”), Dutch na (“close”), naar (“to, towards”), Dutch Low Saxon nao (“after”), German nach (“after”), nahe (“near”), näher (“nearer”), German Low German nao, nå (“towards”), Luxembourgish no (“after”), Danish, Faroese, Icelandic, Norwegian Bokmål, and Norwegian Nynorsk nær (“close, near”), Swedish när, nära (“close, near”), Gothic 𐌽𐌴𐍈 (nēƕ, “close, near”). See also nigh. Near appears to be derived from (or at the very least influenced by) the North Germanic languages; as opposed to nigh, which continues the inherited West Germanic adjective. Both, however, are ultimately derived from the same Proto-Germanic root: *nēhw (“near, close”).

Phrases

  • as near as matters
  • Kingston near Lewes
  • near abroad
  • near as a toucher
  • near at hand
  • Near East
  • near gale
  • near infrared
  • near the knuckle
  • near-death experience
  • near-Earth object
  • near-minimal pair

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

Related verbs

Entails

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.