/kləʊz/, /kloʊz/
OriginFrom 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 claudere (“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 κλείς (kleís, “bar, bolt, key”), 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.
- ambitransitive, physicalTo move a thing, or part of a thing, nearer to another so that the gap or opening between the two is removed.
“Close the door behind you when you leave.”
“Many flowers close at night.”
“Jim closed his eyes and reclined back in his chair.”
- physical, transitiveTo obstruct or block.
“They closed the road for the festival.”
“Ice has closed the channel to shipping.”
- intransitive, physicalTo become denser or more crowded with objects.
“As we penetrated further, the forest closed around us.”
- figuratively, intransitive, physical, transitiveTo make or become unreceptive.
“He has closed his mind to new ideas.”
- intransitive, physical, transitiveTo move to a position preventing fluid from flowing.
- intransitive, physical, transitiveTo move to a position allowing electricity to flow.
- physicalTo 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.”
- especially, intransitive, physical, transitiveTo angle (a club, bat or other hitting implement) downwards and/or (for a right-hander) anticlockwise of straight.
- transitiveTo end or conclude.
“The committee chairman made a few concluding remarks and then closed the session.”
“to close a bargain; to close a course of instruction”
“One frugal supper did our studies close.”
- intransitiveTo finish; to come to an end.
“The debate closed at six o'clock.”
- ergativeTo conclude (a sale).
- transitiveTo perform as the final act at (a show etc.).
“Nirvana closed the festival.”
- transitiveTo make the final outs, usually three, of a game.
“He has closed the last two games for his team.”
- transitiveTo cancel or reverse (a trading position).
- transitiveTo put out of use or operation.
“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.”
- intransitiveTo cease operation or cease to be available.
“Phone lines will close in ten minutes.”
“Our options are closing fast.”
- intransitiveTo cease trading for the day, or permanently.
“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%.”
- intransitiveTo 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.”
- ergativeTo terminate an application, window, file or database connection, etc.
“Close the file when you have finished reading data.”
“This app has a bug: when you try to sort a large spreadsheet, it closes.”
- Cyprus, Philippines, QuebecTo turn off; to switch off.
“Please close the lights, the (electric) fan, the TV.”
- figurativelyTo come or gather around; to enclose.
“The depth closed me round about.”
“But now Thou dost Thyself immure and close / In some one corner of a feeble heart; / Where yet both Sinne and Satan, Thy old foes, / Do pinch and straiten Thee, and use much art / To gain Thy thirds' ”
- To have a vector sum of 0; that is, to form a closed polygon.
- An end or conclusion.
“We owe them our thanks for bringing the project to a successful close.”
“His long and troubled life was drawing to a close.”
- The manner of shutting; the union of parts; junction.
“The doors of plank were; their close exquisite.”
- The point at the end of a sales pitch when the consumer is asked to buy.
“Regardless of the situation, the minute you feel it's time for the close, try it.”
- A grapple in wrestling.
“The intestine shocke, And furious cloze of ciuill Butchery.”
- The conclusion of a strain of music; cadence.
“At every close she made, the attending throng / Replied, and bore the burden of the song.”
- A double bar marking the end.
- The time when check-in staff will no longer accept passengers for a flight.
- Yorkshire, archaicAn enclosed field, especially a field enclosed around a (usually religious) building.
- BritishA street that ends in a dead end.
- ScotlandA very narrow alley between two buildings, often overhung by one of the buildings above the ground floor.
- ScotlandThe common staircase in a tenement.
“The woman nodded at a nearby flight of steps. 'This is my close. We can talk in here. Come on.'.”
- A cathedral close.
“closes surrounded by the venerable abodes of deans and canons.”
- The interest which one may have in a piece of ground, even though it is not enclosed
- At little distance; near in space or time.
“Is your house close?”
“Christmas is getting close.”
“[…] 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, rendere”
- 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.”
- Almost resulting in disaster.
- 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.”
- Adhering strictly to a standard or original; exact or nearly so.
“a close translation; a close copy”
- 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.”
- 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.”
- Physically narrow or confined.
“a close alley; close quarters; close confines”
“[...] he took to wondering what possible temptation could have induced a dingy-looking fly that was crawling over his pantaloons, to come into a close prison, when he had the choice of so many airy si”
- 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.”
- Strictly confined; carefully guarded.
“He was captured and kept a close prisoner.”
- Tightly restricted in availability.
“The pregnancy was a close secret.”
“His lawyers have so far kept this information close.”
- Of a corporation or other business entity, closely held.
- Oppressive; without motion or ventilation; causing a feeling of lassitude.
“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 …”
“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.”
- Ireland, UKHot, humid, with no wind.
- archaicDense; solid; compact.
“The golden globe being put into a press, [...] the water made itself way through the pores of that very close metal.”
- Attentive; undeviating; strict.
“The patient was kept under close observation.”
“Keep a close eye on him.”
“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”
- 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.”
- Accurate; precise.
- Short.
“to cut grass or hair close”
- archaicClosed, shut.
“There is nothinge so close, that shall not be openned, and nothinge so hyd that shall not be knowen.”
“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 di”
“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.”
- Articulated with the tongue body relatively close to the hard palate.
- With its wings at its side, closed, held near to its body (typically also statant); (of wings) in this posture.
“Crest, a cockatrice, wings close, vert, combed and wattled gu.”
“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.”
“Arms : Azure, a chevron ermine between three cross - crosslets fitchy argent. Crest : An eagle close argent, ducally gorged.”
- datedDifficult to obtain.
“Money is close.”
“Some of these parties have not paid their last payment, because money was close last fall.”
“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”
- datedParsimonious; stingy.
“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; [...]”
“[...] he was a crusty old fellow, as close as a vice.”
“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.”
- obsoleteOut of the way of observation; secluded; secret; hidden.
“He yet kept himself close because of Saul.”
“her close intent”
- archaicConcise; to the point.
“close reasoning”
“Where the original is close no version can reach it in the same compass.”
- Marked, evident.
- 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.”
- Carefully, in detail.
“Look close at the pictures.”
- In combination (sometimes potentially ambiguous between adverb and adjective).
“close-packed, close-knit, close-fitting”
Formscloses(present, singular, third-person) · closing(participle, present) · closed(participle, past) · closed(past) · close(infinitive) · close(first-person, present, singular) · closed(first-person, past, singular) · close(present, second-person, singular) · closest(archaic, present, second-person, singular) · closed(past, second-person, singular) · closedst(archaic, past, second-person, singular) · closeth(archaic, present, singular, third-person) · closed(past, singular, third-person) · close(plural, present) · closed(past, plural) · close(present, subjunctive) · closed(past, subjunctive) · close(imperative, present) · -(imperative, past) · closes(plural)