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close

verb · noun · adjective · adverb

Simple meaning

Move so that an opening or passage is obstructed.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

klohs

adjective: klohssverb: klohz

US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈkloʊs

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

verb

  1. physical

    Move so that an opening or passage is obstructed; make shut

  2. physical

    To remove or block an opening, gap or passage through.

  3. ambitransitive

    To move a thing, or part of a thing, nearer to another so that the gap or opening between the two is removed.

  4. intransitive

    To become denser or more crowded with objects.

  5. transitive

    To obstruct or block.

  6. figurativelytransitiveintransitive

    To make or become unreceptive.

noun

  1. An end or conclusion.

  2. A grapple in wrestling.

  3. chiefly british

    A street that ends in a dead end.

  4. The manner of shutting; the union of parts; junction.

  5. A cathedral close.

adjective

  1. At little distance; near in space or time.

  2. Almost, but not quite (getting to an answer, goal, or other state); near.

  3. Nearly equal; almost evenly balanced; almost exactly matching.

  4. Adhering strictly to a standard or original; exact or nearly so.

  5. Involving a tight connection; involving frequent communication, shared or cooperative activity, etc.

  6. Compressed, restricted, constrained, etc.

adverb

  1. In a close manner (limited contexts; more often closely).

  2. So as to leave or create little distance or space between objects.

  3. Carefully, in detail.

  4. In combination (sometimes potentially ambiguous between adverb and adjective).

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
A1 · Beginner
Frequency
Very Common
Typical Use
Everyday English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: Move so that an opening or passage is obstructed; make shut

Used this way, close is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
No strong connotation
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use close

  • “The meeting was closed with a charge by the chairman of the board.”verb
  • “Her arms closed around her long lost relative.”verb
  • “The owners decided to move and to close the factory.”verb

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

Move / remove

close relationshipclose connection

Other combinations

close togetherclose friendclose contactclose proximityclose attentionclose association

Tap the highlighted word to open its own entry.

Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Inflected forms

Grammatical variations of the same word.

  • closedadjectiveInflected form

    Not open or affording passage or access.

  • closingadjectiveInflected form

    Final or ending.

  • closeradverbInflected form

    Within a shorter distance.

  • closestadverbInflected form

    Within the shortest distance.

Word family

Words built from the same root.

  • closenessnounDerived noun

    A feeling of being intimate and belonging together.

  • closelyadverbDerived adverb

    In a close relation or position in time or space.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • close toadverbCompound term

    Imprecise but fairly close to correct.

  • close to the windadverbCompound term

    Nearly opposite to the direction from which wind is coming.

  • close upadverbCompound term

    Very close.

  • closed-angle glaucomanounCompound term

    Glaucoma in which the iris blocks the outflow of aqueous humor.

  • closed booknounCompound term

    Something that baffles understanding and cannot be explained.

  • closed-captionedadjectiveCompound term

    Broadcast with captions that are seen only on receivers having special equipment.

Related words

Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.

  • closurenounRelated term

    Approaching a particular destination.

  • closeupnounRelated term

    A photograph taken at close range.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Antonyms

Sense: move so that an opening or passage is obstructed

open

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.