close

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   Near in space or time.

   My school is close to the train station.

2. 2
   adj

   Knowing and liking someone very well.

   She is very close to her younger sister.

3. 3
   adj

   Almost equal, with no clear winner.

   It was a close game, decided in the last minute.

4. 4
   adv

   At a short distance away.

   Stay close so you don't get lost in the crowd.

5. 5
   adj

   Staying very near the original.

   This is a close translation of the French poem.

Common collocations

• close a shop Verb + noun
• close a store Verb + noun
• close a window Verb + noun
• close one's mouth Verb + noun
• close the door Verb + noun
• close your eyes Verb + noun
• close contact Adjective + noun
• close family Adjective + noun
• close friend Adjective + noun
• close attention Adjective + noun
• close finish Adjective + noun
• close game Adjective + noun

From Middle English closen (“to close, enclose”), partly continuing (in altered form) earlier Middle English clusen (“to close”) from Old English clȳsan (“to close, shut”); compare beclose, foreclose, etc.), and partly derived from Middle English clos (“close, shut up, confined, secret”, adjective), from Old French clos (“close, confined”, adjective), from Latin clausus (“shut up”, past participle), from claudere (“to bar, block, close, enclose, bring an end to, confine”), from Proto-Indo-European *kleh₂w- (“key, hook, nail”), related to Latin clāvis (“key, deadbolt, bar”), clāvus (“nail, peg”…

Topics