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Meaning of NEAR

Pronunciation:  neer

WordNet Dictionary
 
 Definition: 
  1. [adv]  (of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; `near' is sometimes used informally for `nearly' and `most' is sometimes used informally for `almost'; "the job is (just) about done"; "the baby was almost asleep when the alarm sounded"; "we're almost finished"; "the car all but ran her down"; "he nearly fainted"; "talked for nigh onto 2 hours"; "the recording is well-nigh perfect"; "virtually all the parties signed the contract"; "I was near exhausted by the run"; "most everyone agrees"
  2. [adv]  near in time or place or relationship; "as the wedding day drew near"; "stood near the door"; "don't shoot until they come near"; "getting near to the true explanation"; "her mother is always near"; "The end draws nigh"; "the bullet didn't come close"; "don't get too close to the fire"
  3. [adj]  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"
  4. [adj]  (comparative of `close') indicating the one of two that is the shorter distance away; "take the near street and ten turn right"
  5. [adj]  very close in resemblance; "sketched in an approximate likeness"; "a near likeness"
  6. [adj]  with or in a close or intimate relationship; "a good friend"; "my sisters and brothers are near and dear"
  7. [adj]  giving or spending with reluctance; "our cheeseparing administration"; "very close (or near) with his money"; "a penny-pinching miserly old man"
  8. [adj]  closely resembling the genuine article; "near beer"; "a dress of near satin"
  9. [v]  move towards; "We were approaching our destination"; "They are drawing near"; "The enemy army came nearer and nearer"
 
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 Synonyms: about, adjacent, all but, almost, approach, approximate, artificial, cheeseparing, close, close, closer, come near, come on, dear, draw close, draw near, go up, good, hot, just about, moral(a), most, nearby, nearer, nearest, nearly, neighbor, neighboring(a), neighbour, neighbouring(a), nigh, nigh, nighest, penny-pinching, stingy, ungenerous, unreal, virtually, warm, well-nigh
 
 Antonyms: far
 
 See Also: advance, bear down on, bear down upon, close, come, come up, crowd, drive up, edge in, edge up, go on, march on, move on, pass on, progress, push

 

 

Webster's 1913 Dictionary
 
 Definition: 
  1. \Near\ (n[=e]r), adv. [AS. ne['a]r, compar. of ne['a]h
nigh. See {Nigh}.]
1. At a little distance, in place, time, manner, or degree;
   not remote; nigh.
         My wife! my traitress! let her not come near me.
                                               --Milton.
2. Nearly; almost; well-nigh. ``Near twenty years ago.''
   --Shak. ``Near a fortnight ago.'' --Addison.
         Near about the yearly value of the land. --Locke.
3. Closely; intimately. --Shak.
{Far and near}, at a distance and close by; throughout a
   whole region.
{To come near to}, to want but little of; to approximate to.
   ``Such a sum he found would go near to ruin him.''
   --Addison.
{Near the wind} (Naut.), close to the wind; closehauled.

  2. \Near\, a. [Compar. {Nearer}; superl. {Nearest}.] [See
{Near}, adv.]
1. Not far distant in time, place, or degree; not remote;
   close at hand; adjacent; neighboring; nigh. ``As one near
   death.'' --Shak.
         He served great Hector, and was ever near, Not with
         his trumpet only, but his spear.      --Dryden.
2. Closely connected or related.
         She is thy father's near kinswoman.   --Lev. xviii.
                                               12.
3. Close to one's interests, affection, etc.; touching, or
   affecting intimately; intimate; dear; as, a near friend.
4. Close to anything followed or imitated; not free, loose,
   or rambling; as, a version near to the original.
5. So as barely to avoid or pass injury or loss; close;
   narrow; as, a near escape.
6. Next to the driver, when he is on foot; in the Unted
   States, on the left of an animal or a team; as, the near
   ox; the near leg. See {Off side}, under {Off}, a.
7. Immediate; direct; close; short. ``The nearest way.''
   --Milton.
8. Close-fisted; parsimonious. [Obs. or Low, Eng.]
Note: Near may properly be followed by to before the thing
      approached'; but more frequently to is omitted, and the
      adjective or the adverb is regarded as a preposition.
      The same is also true of the word nigh.
Syn: Nigh; close; adjacent; proximate; contiguous; present;
     ready; intimate; dear.

  3. \Near\, prep.
Adjacent to; close by; not far from; nigh; as, the ship
sailed near the land. See the Note under {near}, a.

  4. \Near\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Neared}; p. pr. & vb. n
{Nearing}.] [See {Near}, adv.]
To approach; to come nearer; as, the ship neared the land.

  5. \Near\, v. i.
To draw near; to approach.
      A speck, a mist, a shape, I wist! And still it neared,
      and neared.                              --Coleridge.
 
Thesaurus Terms
 
 Related Terms: about, about to be, abutting, accost, adjacent, adjoining, advance, advancing, all but, almost, along toward, already in sight, among, angustifoliate, angustirostrate, angustisellate, angustiseptal, anticipate, ape, appear like, approach, approaching, appropinquate, approximate, approximating, approximative, arm-in-arm, around, as good as, aside, at, at close quarters, at hand, at next hand, attached, attracted to, avaricious, await, be destined, be fated, be imminent, be in store, be like, be redolent of, be to be, be to come, bear down on, bear down upon, bear resemblance, bear up, beside, bordering on, brew, brewing, bring to mind, burning, by, call to mind, call up, cheap, cheek-by-jowl, circa, circumscribed, close, close about, close at hand, close by, close in, close to, close upon, close with, close-by, closefisted, close-fitting, closely, come, come close, come closer, come forward, come near, come on, come up, coming, comparable, compare with, confined, confront, connected, constricted, contiguous, converge, copy, correspond, counterclockwise, counterfeit, cramp, cramped, crowded, draw near, draw nigh, draw on, drawn to, encounter, equal, evoke, expect, face, familiar, fast by, favor, follow, foresee, foretell, forthcome, forthcoming, from, future, gain upon, gather, gathering, going to happen, hairbreadth, hand and glove, hand-in-hand, hang over, hard, hard by, hard on, hardfisted, hereabout, hereabouts, homologous, hope, hot, hover, illiberal, imitate, immediate, imminent, impend, impendent, impending, in, in danger imminent, in prospect, in reserve, in spitting distance, in store, in the cards, in the offing, in the wind, in view, incapacious, incommodious, inseparable, instant, intimate, isthmian, isthmic, just about, larboard, lean towards, left, left-hand, left-wing, left-wingish, levorotatory, liberal, lie ahead, lie over, like, limited, look for, look forward to, look like, loom, looming, lower, lowering, lurking, match, meager, mean, menace, menacing, mimic, mirror, miserly, much at one, much the same, narrow, narrow the gap, near at hand, near the mark, near to, near upon, nearabout, nearabouts, nearby, nearing, nearish, nearly, nearly reproduce, nearly the same, next door to, next to, niggardly, nigh, nigh about, nighhand, nighish, not far, not far from, not quite, not tell apart, on, on the horizon, oncoming, only a step, overhang, overhanging, parallel, parsimonious, partake of, penny-pinching, penurious, pinchfisted, pinching, plan, plot, port, predict, preparing, pretty near, project, prophesy, propinque, proximal, proximate, quasi, radical, relatable, related, relative, remind one of, resemble, restricted, rival, round, same but different, save-all, savor of, scant, scanty, seem like, selfish, side-by-side, sidle up to, similar, simulate, sinister, sinistral, sinistrocerebral, sinistrocular, sinistrogyrate, sinistrorse, slender, smack of, sound like, stack up with, step up, stingy, strait, suggest, take after, that will be, thereabout, thereabouts, thick, thick as thieves, threaten, threatening, tight, tightfisted, tight-fisted, to, to come, touch, toward, ungenerous, upcoming, verge on, verging on, verging upon, vicinal, virtually, waiting, warm, well-nigh, with, within call, within earshot, within hearing, within reach, within sight
 

 

 

 

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