next to

1 of 2

preposition

1

: immediately following or adjacent to

2

: in comparison to

next to you I'm wealthy

next to

2 of 2

adverb

: very nearly : almost

it was next to impossible to see in the fog

Synonyms

Preposition

• about
• around
• by
• near
• nigh

Adverb

• about
• all but
• almost
• borderline
• fair [chiefly British]
• fairly
• feckly [chiefly Scottish]
• more or less
• most
• much
• near
• nearly
• nigh
• practically
• somewhere
• virtually
• well-nigh

Examples of next to in a Sentence

Preposition

enjoys living next to the ocean

next to the war, the flagging economy was the biggest campaign issue

Adverb

bought it for next to nothing

Recent Examples on the Web

Preposition

To store one bit, two Josephson-junction loops need to be placed next to each other. —Anna Herr, IEEE Spectrum, 15 May 2024

The proposals take an early peek at three major alternatives for a modern transit hub that would sprout next to the existing Diridon train station near the corner of West Santa Clara Street and Cahill Street in San Jose. —George Avalos, The Mercury News, 15 May 2024

Word History

First Known Use

Preposition

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adverb

1596, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

next to

1 of 2 preposition

: immediately following : being close to

next to the head of her class

next to

2 of 2 adverb

: very nearly : almost