close

I SHUTTING OR COMPLETING

♦

closes, closing, closed

(Pronounced [[t]klo͟ʊz[/t]] in close 1 and 3, and [[t]klo͟ʊs[/t]] in close 2 and 4.)

1) V-ERG When you close something such as a door or lid or when it closes, it moves so that a hole, gap, or opening is covered.

[V n] If you are cold, close the window...

Zacharias heard the door close...

[V-ed] Keep the curtains closed.

Syn:

shut

Ant:

open

2) VERB When you close something such as an open book or umbrella, you move the different parts of it together.

[V n] Slowly he closed the book.

3) V-ERG When you close your eyes or your eyes close, your eyelids move downwards, so that you can no longer see.

[V n] Bess closed her eyes and fell asleep. [Also V]

4) V-ERG When a place closes or is closed, work or activity stops there for a short period.

Shops close only on Christmas Day and New Year's Day...

[V n] It was Saturday; they could close the office early...

[V n] Government troops closed the airport...

[V-ed] The restaurant was closed for the night.

Syn:

shut

Ant:

open

5) V-ERG If a place such as a factory, shop, or school closes, or if it is closed, all work or activity stops there permanently.

Many enterprises will be forced to close...

[V n] If they do close the local college I'll have to go to Worcester.

Derived words:

closing N-SING

...since the closing of the steelworks in nearby Duquesne in 1984.

PHR-V-ERG

Close down means the same as close.

V P n (not pron) Minford closed down the business and went into politics... Also V n P V P Many of the smaller stores have closed down.

6) VERB To close a road or border means to block it in order to prevent people from using it.

[V n] They were cut off from the West in 1948 when their government closed that border crossing.

7) VERB To close a conversation, event, or matter means to bring it to an end or to complete it.

[V n] Judge Isabel Oliva said last night: `I have closed the case. There was no foul play.'...

[V n] He needs another $30,000 to close the deal...

[V-ed] The Prime Minister is said to now consider the matter closed.

[V-ing] ...the closing ceremony of the National Political Conference.

8) VERB If you close a bank account, you take all your money out of it and inform the bank that you will no longer be using the account.

[V n] He had closed his account with the bank five years earlier.

Ant:

open

9) VERB On the stock market or the currency markets, if a share price or a currency closes at a particular value, that is its value at the end of the day's business.

[V prep/adv] Dawson shares closed at 219p, up 5p...

[V adj-compar] The US dollar closed higher in Tokyo today.

Ant:

open

10) N-SING: oft the N of n, to a N The close of a period of time or an activity is the end of it. To bring or draw something to a close means to end it.

By the close of business last night, most of the big firms were hailing yesterday's actions as a success...

Brian's retirement brings to a close a glorious chapter in British football history...

As 1999 draws to a close, the story is changing.

Syn:

end

11) → See also , closing

to close the door on something → see door

to close your eyes to something → see eye

to close ranks → see rank

Phrasal Verbs:

- close down

- close off

- close up

II NEARNESS; ADJECTIVE USES

♦

closer, closest

(Pronounced [[t]klo͟ʊz[/t]] in close 1 and 3, and [[t]klo͟ʊs[/t]] in close 2 and 4.)

1) ADJ-GRADED: v-link ADJ, ADJ after v, oft ADJ prep/adv If one thing or person is close to another, there is only a very small distance between them.

Her lips were close to his head and her breath tickled his ear...

The whales were too close; this posed an immediate problem for my photography...

The man moved closer, lowering his voice...

The tables were pushed close together so diners could talk across the aisles.

Syn:

near

Ant:

far

Derived words:

closely ADV-GRADED ADV after v, ADV -ed

They crowded more closely around the stretcher...

Wherever they went they were closely followed by security men.

2) ADJ-GRADED: oft ADJ to n You say that people are close to each other when they like each other very much and know each other very well.

She and Linda became very close...

As a little girl, Karan was closest to her sister Gail...

I shared a house with a close friend from school...

I had a close relationship with my grandfather.

Syn:

intimate

Derived words:

closeness N-UNCOUNT

I asked whether her closeness to her mother ever posed any problems.

3) ADJ-GRADED: ADJ n Your close relatives are the members of your family who are most directly related to you, for example your parents and your brothers or sisters.

...large changes such as the birth of a child or death of a close relative.

Ant:

distant

4) ADJ-GRADED: usu ADJ n, also v-link ADJ to n A close ally or partner of someone knows them well and is very involved in their work.

He was once regarded as one of Mr Brown's closest political advisers...

A senior source close to Mr Blair told us: `Our position has not changed.'

5) ADJ-GRADED: ADJ n Close contact or co-operation involves seeing or communicating with someone often.

Both nations are seeking closer links with the West...

He lived alone, keeping close contact with his three grown-up sons.

Derived words:

closely ADV-GRADED ADV after v

We work closely with the careers officers in schools.

6) ADJ-GRADED: usu ADJ n If there is a close connection or resemblance between two things, they are strongly connected or are very similar.

There is a close connection between pain and tension...

Clare's close resemblance to his elder sister invoked a deep dislike in him.

Syn:

strong

Derived words:

closely ADV-GRADED ADV before v, ADV -ed

...a pattern closely resembling a cross.

...fruits closely related to the orange.

7) ADJ-GRADED Close inspection or observation of something is careful and thorough.

He discovered, on closer inspection, that the rocks contained gold...

All these definitions, while sounding impressive, do not stand up under close scrutiny...

Let's have a closer look.

Syn:

thorough

Derived words:

closely ADV-GRADED ADV with v

If you look closely at many of the problems in society, you'll see evidence of racial discrimination.

8) ADJ-GRADED A close competition or election is won or seems likely to be won by only a small amount.

It is still a close contest between two leading opposition parties...

It's going to be very close.

Derived words:

closely ADV-GRADED usu ADV -ed

This will be a closely fought race.

9) ADJ-GRADED: v-link ADJ, usu ADJ to n/-ing If you are close to something or if it is close, it is likely to happen or come soon. If you are close to doing something, you are likely to do it soon.

She sounded close to tears...

Drought has left more than two million people close to starvation...

A senior White House official said the agreement is close...

He's close to signing a contract.

Syn:

near

10) ADJ-GRADED: v-link ADJ, usu ADJ to n If something is close or comes close to something else, it almost is, does, or experiences that thing.

There is a simplicity about the interior which comes close to blandness...

An airliner came close to disaster while approaching Heathrow Airport...

Her desire was closer to passion than love.

Syn:

near

11) ADJ-GRADED If the atmosphere somewhere is close, it is unpleasantly warm with not enough air.

12) PHRASE: usu v-link PHR, PHR after v Something that is close by or close at hand is near to you.

Did a new hairdressing shop open close by?...

His wife remains behind in Germany, but Jason, his 18-year-old son, is closer at hand.

Syn:

near by

13) PHRASE If you describe an event as a close shave, a close thing, or a close call, you mean that an accident or a disaster very nearly happened.

You had a close shave, but you knew when you accepted this job that there would be risks.

14) PHRASE: V inflects, usu PHR on n If you keep a close eye on someone or something or keep a close watch on them, you observe them carefully to make sure they are progressing as you want them to.

The President's foreign policy team are keeping a close eye on events.

15) PHR-PREP: PREP amount Close to a particular amount or distance means slightly less than that amount or distance. In British English, you can also say close on a particular amount or distance.

Sisulu spent close to 30 years in prison...

Close to 50,000 people took part...

Catering may now account for close on a quarter of pub turnover.

Syn:

almost, nearly

16) PHRASE: usu PHR after v, v-link PHR If you look at something close up or close to, you look at it when you are very near to it.

→ See also close-up

They always look smaller close up.

17) PHRASE: PHR with cl If something such as a competition or an election is too close to call, it is not possible to predict who will win because it seems likely to be won by only a very small margin. [JOURNALISM]

In the Senate, the count is too close to call at this point.

18) at close quarters → see quarter

at close range → see range

III NEARNESS; VERB USES

♦♦♦

closes, closing, closed

VERB

(Pronounced [[t]klo͟ʊz[/t]] in close 1 and 3, and [[t]klo͟ʊs[/t]] in close 2 and 4.)

If you are closing on someone or something that you are following, you are getting nearer and nearer to them.

[V on n] I was within 15 seconds of the guy in second place and closing on him. [Also V]

Phrasal Verbs:

- close in

IV USED AS A ROAD NAME

Close

Closes

N-IN-NAMES: n N

(Pronounced [[t]klo͟ʊz[/t]] in close 1 and 3, and [[t]klo͟ʊs[/t]] in close 2 and 4.)

Close is used in the names of some streets in Britain.

...116 Dendridge Close.