closer
noun · adverb
Simple meaning
Within a shorter distance.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
klohserSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈkloʊsɚ
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.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
A person who closes something
“Whoever is the closer has to turn out the lights and lock up.”
Someone or something that concludes.
The last stone in a horizontal course, if smaller than the others; a piece of brick finishing a course.
adverb
comparative of `near' or `close'
Within a shorter distance
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A2 · Elementary (estimated)
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A person who closes something
Used this way, closer is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
“Whoever is the closer has to turn out the lights and lock up.”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- 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 closer
- “Whoever is the closer has to turn out the lights and lock up.”noun
- “Come closer, my dear!”adverb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Relief
Other combinations
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.
Move so that an opening or passage is obstructed.
Word family
Words built from the same root.
A feeling of being intimate and belonging together.
In a close relation or position in time or space.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A metal block in breech-loading firearms that is withdrawn to insert a cartridge and replaced to close the breech before firing.
Related words
Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.
Approaching a particular destination.
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Words can change meaning depending on context.
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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.