close

See also: Close

English

Etymology 1

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 claudō (“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”), claustrum (“bar, bolt, barrier”), claustra (“dam, wall, barricade, stronghold”). Cognate with Ancient Greek κλείω (kleíō), κλείς (kleís, “bar, bolt, key”), Russian заключи́ть (zaključítʹ) (via ключ (ključ)), German schließen (“to close, conclude, lock”), Dutch sluiten (“to close, conclude, lock”). Partially replaced Old English lūcan (“to close, lock, enclose”), (whence English lock). Doublet of clause.

Pronunciation

  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈkləʊz/, [ˈkʰl̥əʊ̯z]; /ˈklɵʊ̯z/, [ˈkʰl̥ɵ̞ʊ̯z]
  • (General American) IPA(key): /ˈkloʊ̯z/, [ˈkʰl̥oʊ̯z]; /ˈklɔʊ̯z/, [ˈkʰl̥ɔʊ̯z]
    • Audio (US):(file)
  • Rhymes: -əʊz
  • Hyphenation: close
  • Homophones: cloze, clothes (when the /ð/ is omitted)

Verb

close (third-person singular simple present closes, present participle closing, simple past and past participle closed)

  1. (physical) To remove or block an opening, gap or passage through.
    1. (ambitransitive) To move a thing, or part of a thing, nearer to another so that the gap or opening between the two is removed.
      Synonyms: close up, shut
      Antonym: open
      Close the door behind you when you leave.
      Many flowers close at night.
      Jim closed his eyes and reclined back in his chair.
      The runner in second place is closing the gap on the leader.
      to close the ranks of an army
    2. (transitive) To obstruct or block.
      Synonyms: close off, close up, shut, shut off
      Antonym: open
      They closed the road for the festival.
      Ice has closed the channel to shipping.
    3. (intransitive) To become denser or more crowded with objects.
      As we penetrated further, the forest closed around us.
    4. (figuratively, transitive, intransitive) To make or become unreceptive.
      He has closed his mind to new ideas.
    5. (transitive, intransitive, engineering, gas and liquid flow, of valve or damper) To move to a position preventing fluid from flowing.
    6. (transitive, intransitive, electricity, of a switch, fuse or circuit breaker) To move to a position allowing electricity to flow.
    7. To grapple; to engage in close combat.
      • 1856-1858, William H. Prescott, History of the Reign of Phillip II
        They boldly closed in a hand-to-hand contest.
    8. (transitive, intransitive, especially sports) To angle (a club, bat or other hitting implement) downwards and/or (for a right-hander) anticlockwise of straight.
  2. To finish.
    1. (transitive) To end or conclude.
      Synonyms: complete, end, finish, wind up, wrap up
      Antonyms: begin, commence, initiate, start
      The committee chairman made a few concluding remarks and then closed the session.
      to close a bargain;   to close a course of instruction
    2. (intransitive) To finish; to come to an end.
      Synonyms: end, finish, wind up, wrap up
      Antonyms: begin, commence, start
      The debate closed at six o'clock.
    3. (ergative, marketing) To conclude (a sale).
    4. (transitive) To perform as the final act at (a show etc.).
      Nirvana closed the festival.
    5. (transitive, baseball, pitching) To make the final outs, usually three, of a game.
      He has closed the last two games for his team.
    6. (transitive, finance) To cancel or reverse (a trading position).
  3. To make or become non-operational or unavailable for use.
    1. (transitive) To put out of use or operation.
      Synonym: close down
      We are closing the phone lines at 9 pm.
      Your account has been closed because of non-payment.
      They closed the airport because of a bomb scare.
    2. (intransitive) To cease operation or cease to be available.
      Phone lines will close in ten minutes.
      Our options are closing fast.
    3. (intransitive, of a business, market etc.) To cease trading for the day, or permanently.
      Synonym: shut
      Antonym: open
      The supermarket closes at eight o'clock.
      Lots of shops in the town centre have closed because of the recession.
      The FTSE 100 closed up 1.2%.
    4. (intransitive) To do the tasks (putting things away, locking doors, etc.) required to prepare a store or other establishment to shut down for the night.
      Whoever closed last night forgot to turn off the closet light.
    5. (ergative, computing) To terminate an application, window, file or database connection, etc.
      Synonym: exit (an application)
      Antonyms: launch (an application), open, start (an application)
      Close the file when you have finished reading data.
      This app has a bug: when you try to sort a large spreadsheet, it closes.
    6. (Philippines, Quebec, Greece, Cyprus) To turn off; to switch off.
      Please close the lights, the (electric) fan, the TV.
  4. (chiefly figurative) To come or gather around; to enclose.
    Synonyms: encompass, confine
  5. (surveying) To have a vector sum of 0; that is, to form a closed polygon.
Usage notes

Due to the near-opposite meanings relating to fluid flow and electrical components, these usages are deprecated in safety-critical instructions, with the words to "on" or to "off" preferred, so instead of Close valve A; close switch B use Turn valve A to OFF; turn switch B to ON.

Conjugation
Conjugation of close
infinitive (to) close
present tense past tense
1st-person singular close closed
2nd-person singular close, closest† closed, closedst†
3rd-person singular closes, closeth† closed
plural close
subjunctive close closed
imperative close —
participles closing closed

† Archaic or obsolete.

Hyponyms
Derived terms
Phrasal verbs and conversions formed from them
Compound words and expressions
Translations

Noun

close (plural closes)

  1. An end or conclusion.
    We owe them our thanks for bringing the project to a successful close.
    • 1878, Thomas Babington Macaulay, “Francis Atterbury”, in Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition‎[1]:
      His long and troubled life was drawing to a close.
  2. The manner of shutting; the union of parts; junction.
  3. (sales) The point at the end of a sales pitch when the consumer is asked to buy.
    Synonym: closer
    • 1983, Charles B. Roth, Roy Alexander, Secrets of Closing Sales, page 110:
      Regardless of the situation, the minute you feel it's time for the close, try it.
  4. A grapple in wrestling.
  5. (music) The conclusion of a strain of music; cadence.
  6. (music) A double bar marking the end.
  7. (aviation, travel) The time when check-in staff will no longer accept passengers for a flight.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Derived terms
Translations

Etymology 2

Borrowed from French clos, from Latin clausum, participle of claudō.

Pronunciation

Adjective

close (comparative closer, superlative closest)

  1. Having little difference or distance in place, position, or abstractly; see also close to.
    1. At little distance; near in space or time.
      Is your house close?
      Christmas is getting close.
      • 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter VII, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
        […] St. Bede's at this period of its history was perhaps the poorest and most miserable parish in the East End of London. Close-packed, crushed by the buttressed height of the railway viaduct, rendered airless by huge walls of factories, it at once banished lively interest from a stranger's mind and left only a dull oppression of the spirit.
    2. Almost, but not quite (getting to an answer, goal, or other state); near.
      No, but you were close.
      We were so close to winning!
      She wasn't quite in tears but she was close.
      • 2013 June 1, “End of the peer show”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8838, London: The Economist Group, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 71:
        Finance is seldom romantic. But the idea of peer-to-peer lending comes close. This is an industry that brings together individual savers and lenders on online platforms. Those that want to borrow are matched with those that want to lend.
    3. (in particular) Almost resulting in disaster.
      Phew! That was close!
    4. Nearly equal; almost evenly balanced; almost exactly matching.
      Their ages are quite close.
      His face is a close fit with the artist's impression.
      It was a close contest.
    5. Adhering strictly to a standard or original; exact or nearly so.
      a close translation; a close copy
    6. Intimate or immediate in personal relationship.
      He is a close friend.
      My brother and I were close when we were younger, but not so much now.
      For Christmas we just had a few close relatives round.
      a close colleague; a close ally
    7. Involving a tight connection; involving frequent communication, shared or cooperative activity, etc.
      We have a close affiliation with the college.
      I keep in close contact with my former colleagues.
    8. (sex) Nearing orgasm.
  2. Compressed, restricted, constrained, etc.
    1. (archaic outside certain phrases) Physically narrow or confined.
      a close alley; close quarters; close confines
    2. Tight, with little space separating components or elements.
      For this job it's best to use wood with a close grain.
      These trousers are a close fit.
    3. Strictly confined; carefully guarded.
      He was captured and kept a close prisoner.
    4. Tightly restricted in availability.
      The pregnancy was a close secret.
      His lawyers have so far kept this information close.
    5. (law) Of a corporation or other business entity, closely held.
    6. Oppressive; without motion or ventilation; causing a feeling of lassitude.
      • 1627 (indicated as 1626), Francis [Bacon], “(please specify the page, or |century=I to X)”, in Sylua Syluarum: Or A Naturall Historie. In Ten Centuries. […], London: […] William Rawley […]; [p]rinted by J[ohn] H[aviland] for William Lee […], →OCLC:
        If the rooms be low-roofed, or full of windows and doors, the one maketh the air close, [...] and the other maketh it exceeding unequal.
      • 1907, Algernon Blackwood, The Dance of Death [...]the artificial light and close air of his high office stool [...]
      • 1920 March – 1921 February, P[elham] G[renville] Wodehouse, chapter X, in Indiscretions of Archie, New York, N.Y.: A[lbert] L[evi] Burt Company, […], published 1921, →OCLC:
        He sighed drowsily. The atmosphere of the auction room was close; you weren't allowed to smoke; and altogether he was beginning to regret that he had come.
    7. (Ireland, UK, weather) Hot, humid, with no wind.
    8. (archaic) Dense; solid; compact.
  3. Rigorous, careful, etc.
    1. Attentive; undeviating; strict.
      The patient was kept under close observation.
      Keep a close eye on him.
      • a. 1705, John Locke, “Of the Conduct of the Understanding”, in Posthumous Works of Mr. John Locke: […], London: […] A[wnsham] and J[ohn] Churchill, […], published 1706, →OCLC, page 90:
        I must acknowledge that hitherto I have discover’d no other way to keep our Thoughts cloſe to their Buſineſs, but the endeavouring as much as we can, and by frequent Attention and Application, getting the habit of Attention and Application.
    2. Carefully done, detailed.
      This issue merits close examination.
      Unfortunately, on close reading of the Ts and Cs, it appears that your insurance does not cover this.
    3. Accurate; precise. (Can we add an example for this sense?)
  4. Short.
    to cut grass or hair close
  6. (now rare) Closed, shut.
    • 1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer], →OCLC, Matthew x:[26], folio xiij, verso:
      There is no thinge ſo cloſe / that ſhall not be openned / and no thinge ſo hyd that ſhall not be knowen.
    • 1830, Thomas Thomson (chemist), The History of Chemistry, volume 1, pages 30–31:
      As the alchymists were assiduous workmen—as they mixed all the metals, salts, &c... and subjected such mixtures to the action of heat in close vessels, their labours were occasionally repaid by the discovery of new substances […]
    • 1868, Wilkie Collins, The Moonstone:
      The arrival of the carriages was the signal for the arrival of the rain. It poured as if it meant to pour all night. With the exception of the doctor, whose gig was waiting for him, the rest of the company went home snugly, under cover, in close carriages.
    • 1847 October 16, Currer Bell [pseudonym; Charlotte Brontë], chapter I, in Jane Eyre. […], volume I, London: Smith, Elder, and Co., […], →OCLC, page 2:
      I mounted into the window-seat: gathering up my feet, I sat cross-legged, like a Turk; and, having drawn the red moreen curtain nearly close, I was shrined in double retirement.
  8. (linguistics, phonetics, of a vowel) Articulated with the tongue body relatively close to the hard palate.
  9. (heraldry, of a bird) With its wings at its side, closed, held near to its body (typically also statant); (of wings) in this posture.
    An eagle close.
    • 1780, Joseph Edmondson, A Complete Body of Heraldry:
      Crest, a cockatrice, wings close, vert, combed and wattled gu.
    • 1894, Henry Gough, James Parker, A Glossary of Terms Used in Heraldry, page 215:
      Sable, an eagle close or - ROPER, Derby. / Sable, a chevron ermine between three eagles close argent - GAMES, Leicester, granted 1614. / Sable a chevron between three eagles close argent - JERVOISE.
    • 1902, Lincoln's Inn (London, England), The Records of the Honorable Society of Lincoln's Inn, page 458:
      Arms : Azure, a chevron ermine between three cross - crosslets fitchy argent. Crest : An eagle close argent, ducally gorged.
  10. (dated) Difficult to obtain.
    Money is close.
    • 1886, “Leases of Lands in the Indian Territory”, in United States Congressional Serial Set, volume 2362, page 184:
      Some of these parties have not paid their last payment, because money was close last fall.
    • 1903, Gunton's Magazine of American Economics and Political Science, page 249:
      We are told out West that the reason money is so close now is because so large an amount has been invested in real estate. I cannot understand why that would make any difference if that money has been sent from one section of the country into another for the purpose of buying real estate. Why should it make any difference as to money being close? We are told in the East large amounts have been invested in the large manufacturing plants, such as the steel plants, etc. but if the money has been invested there it has simply changed hands, and why should that make any difference?
    • 1965, Country Life - Volume 137, page 326:
      But there is reason underlying this confusion: time as well as money is close these days and a small wardrobe of hats can be very boring.
  11. (dated) Parsimonious; stingy.
    • 1820, John Keats, “Isabella; or, The Pot of Basil. A Story from Boccaccio.”, in Lamia, Isabella, the Eve of St. Agnes, and Other Poems, London: […] [Thomas Davison] for Taylor and Hessey, […], →OCLC, stanza XVII, page 57:
      Yet were these Florentines as self-retired / In hungry pride and gainful cowardice, / As two close Hebrews in that land inspired, / Paled in and vineyarded from beggar-spies; [...]
    • 1837, Nathaniel Hawthorne, “Mr. Higginbotham's Catastrophe”, in Twice-Told Tales, volume I:
      [...] he was a crusty old fellow, as close as a vice.
    • 1852 March – 1853 September, Charles Dickens, Bleak House, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1853, →OCLC:
      Though a hard-grained man, close, dry, and silent, he can enjoy old wine with the best. He has a priceless bin of port in some artful cellar under the Fields, which is one of his many secrets.
  12. (obsolete) Out of the way of observation; secluded; secret; hidden.
  13. (archaic) Concise; to the point.
    close reasoning
    • 1690, John Dryden, Translations (Preface)
      Where the original is close no version can reach it in the same compass.
  14. Marked, evident. (Can we add an example for this sense?)
Synonyms
Antonyms
Hyponyms
Derived terms
Translations

Adverb

close (comparative closer, superlative closest)

  1. In a close manner (limited contexts; more often closely).
    1. So as to leave or create little distance or space between objects.
      The car behind was following too close and could not brake in time.
      Please stay close together.
    2. Carefully, in detail.
      Look close at the pictures.
    3. In combination (sometimes potentially ambiguous between adverb and adjective).
      close-packed, close-knit, close-fitting
Translations

Noun

close (plural closes)

  1. (chiefly UK) A street that ends in a dead end.
  2. (historical) Private fenced land, such as a paddock, orchard or yard, that, along with the common pasture land and woodland, constituted the inarable component of the open-field system of the medieval manor in England.
    Diagram showing closes within a medieval English manor
    Conjectural map of a medieval English manor. The part allocated to "closes" is shown in the bottom-left section, shaded gold
    • 1778 May 1, “Classified Advertisement”, in Derby Mercury, page 4:
      To be SOLD, At Mr. PACEY's, the WHITE LION in Nottingham, on Thursday the 28th Day of May, between the Hours of three and six in the Afternoon; THE INHERITANCE in Fee Simple of the MANOR of ALSWORTH, otherwise AWSWORTH, in the County of Nottingham, and also several Messuages and Tenements, with the Closes and Parcels of Land, Meadow, and Pasture Ground thereto belonging,...
    • 2021, Michael Smith, Stuart Lee, Lydia Ball, David Bamford, Don Foster, John Mortimer, Richard Paxton, Carol Sanderson, Dawn Savage, Graham Spencer, James Woodward, Awsworth Neighbourhood Plan 2015-2030‎[2], Adopted Version, July 2021 (PDF), Awsworth, Notts, UK: Awsworth Parish Council, archived from the original on 30/06/2026, page 14, line 2.12:
      By 1765, rapid enclosure was underway in the surrounding area (open fields replaced by the modern system of private fields). By the time of the 1846 ‘Tithe Map and Award’ very little remained of the original agricultural system other than indications in field names, such as Ginn Close, Straw Close, Crab Tree Close, Noble Close, Tinker Close, Laine Close, Hansack Close, Hansacky, Little Hansacky, The Pringle and Dole Meadow. (Note – ‘Close’ meaning an enclosure).
  3. (now rare, chiefly Yorkshire) An enclosed field, especially a field enclosed around a (usually religious) building (e.g. a cathedral close).
  4. (Scotland) A very narrow alley between two buildings, often overhung by one of the buildings above the ground floor.
  5. (Scotland) The common staircase in a tenement.
  6. (law) The interest which one may have in a piece of ground, even though it is not enclosed.[1]
Synonyms
Derived terms
Translations

Descendants

  • → Irish: clós
  • → Welsh: clos

References

  1. ^ John Bouvier (1839), “CLOSE”, in A Law Dictionary, […], volumes I (A–K), Philadelphia, Pa.: T. & J. W. Johnson, […], successors to Nicklin & Johnson, […], →OCLC.

Anagrams

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from English close.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /kloːs/
  • Audio:(file)
  • Hyphenation: close
  • Rhymes: -oːs

Adjective

close (comparative closer, superlative meest close or closest)

  1. close (intimate or immediate in personal relationship)
  2. close (almost resulting in disaster)

Declension

Declension of close
uninflected close
inflected close
comparative closer
positive comparative superlative
predicative/adverbial close closer het closest
het closeste
indefinite m./f. sing. close closere closeste
n. sing. close closer closeste
plural close closere closeste
definite close closere closeste
partitive closes closers —

French

Pronunciation

Adjective

close

  1. feminine singular of clos

Verb

close

  1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive of clore

Participle

close f sg

  1. feminine singular of clos

Further reading

Anagrams

Middle English

Noun

close

  1. plural of cloth

Portuguese

Etymology

    Unadapted borrowing from English close.

    Pronunciation

    Noun

    close m (plural closes)

    1. (photography) close-up (photography in which the subject is shown at a large scale)
      Synonym: close-up
    2. (Brazil, gay slang) attitude
      Synonym: carão

    Derived terms

    • close errado
    • dar close

    Further reading

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