close

1 of 5

verb

ˈklōz

closed; closing

Synonyms of close next

transitive verb

: to move so as to bar passage through something

Close the gate.

: to block against entry or passage

close a street

: to deny access to

The city closed the beach.

: to suspend or stop the operations of

close school

—often used with down

They closed down the factory.

: screen, exclude

close a view

: to bring to an end or period

close an account

closed his football career with an outstanding big bowl performance

Investigators closed the case after concluding that his death was accidental.

: to terminate access to (a computer file or program)

Remember to save the file before closing it.

: to conclude discussion or negotiation about

The question is closed.

also : to consummate (see consummate entry 2 sense 2) by performing something previously agreed

close a transfer of real estate title

: to bring or bind together the parts or edges of

a closed book

: to reduce to nil

closed the distance to the lead racer

: to fill up (something, such as an opening)

close the cracks with plaster of paris

: to make complete by circling or enveloping or by making continuous

close a circuit

archaic : enclose, contain

intransitive verb

: to contract, fold, swing, or slide so as to leave no opening

The door closed quietly.

: to cease operation

The factory closed down.

The stores close at 9 p.m.

: to come together : meet

The jaws of the vise closed.

: to draw the free foot up to the supporting foot in dancing

: to come to an end or period

The services closed with a short prayer.

: to enter into or complete an agreement

close on a deal

: to reduce a gap

closed to within two points

: to draw near

The ship was closing with the island.

: to engage in a struggle at close quarters : grapple

close with the enemy

closable adjective

or closeable

ˈklō-zə-bəl

2 of 5

adjective

ˈklōs

closer; closest

: being near in time, space, effect, or degree

at close range

close to my birthday

close to the speed of sound

: intimate, familiar

close friends

: strict, rigorous

keep close watch

: very precise and attentive to details

a close reading

a close study

: marked by fidelity to an original

a close copy of an old master

: terse, compact

… his exact, close, sober classical style …—

Edmund Wilson

: decided or won by a narrow margin

a close baseball game

: very short or near to the surface

a close haircut

: fitting tightly or exactly

a close fit

: confined or carefully guarded

close quarters

close arrest

: having little space between items or units

a close weave

a close grain

: hot and stuffy

a room with an uncomfortably close atmosphere

: difficult to obtain

Money is close.

: not generous in giving or spending : tight

… a close buyer and a good marketer.—

W. A. White

: having no openings : closed

: restricted to a privileged class

a close scholarship

: secluded, secret

: secretive

She could tell us something if she would …. But she was as close as wax.—

A. Conan Doyle

of a vowel : high sense 13

: formed with the tongue in a higher position than for the other vowel of a pair

Italian has a close and an open e.

of punctuation : characterized by liberal use especially of commas

closely adverb

closeness noun

3 of 5

adverb

ˈklōs

: in a close position or manner

Don't drive so close to the car in front of you.

Look close and tell me what you see.

They sat close together on the bench.

4 of 5

noun (1)

ˈklōz

: a coming or bringing to a conclusion

at the close of the party

: a conclusion or end in time or existence : cessation

The decade drew to a close.

: the concluding passage (as of a speech or play)

At the close of his speech, he thanked his supporters.

: the conclusion of a musical strain or period : cadence

Following the close of the symphony, the audience rose and applauded.

: the movement of the free foot in dancing toward or into contact with the supporting foot

archaic : a hostile encounter

5 of 5

noun (2)

ˈklōs

U.S. also

ˈklōz

chiefly British : the precinct (see precinct sense 2a) of a cathedral

: an enclosed area

chiefly British

: a road closed at one end

: a narrow passage leading from a street to a court and the houses within or to the common stairway of tenements

Phrases

close one's doors

: to refuse admission

The nation closed its doors to immigrants.

: to go out of business

The furniture store closed its doors last week.

close one's eyes to

: to ignore deliberately

Officials closed their eyes to allegations of child abuse at the day care center.

close ranks

: to unite in a concerted stand especially to meet a challenge

The family closed ranks to protect one of their own.

close the door

: to be uncompromisingly obstructive

closed the door to further negotiation

close to home

: within one's personal interests so that one is strongly affected

The speaker's remarks hit close to home.

close to the bone

: within a sensitive or personal area

The criticism cut close to the bone.

close to the vest

: in a reserved or cautious manner

She tends to keep her opinions close to the vest.

Choose the Right Synonym for close

Verb

close, end, conclude, finish, complete, terminate mean to bring or come to a stopping point or limit.

close usually implies that something has been in some way open as well as unfinished.

close a debate

end conveys a strong sense of finality.

ended his life

conclude may imply a formal closing (as of a meeting).

the service concluded with a blessing

finish may stress completion of a final step in a process.

after it is painted, the house will be finished

complete implies the removal of all deficiencies or a successful finishing of what has been undertaken.

the resolving of this last issue completes the agreement

terminate implies the setting of a limit in time or space.

your employment terminates after three months

Adjective

stingy, close, niggardly, parsimonious, penurious, miserly mean being unwilling or showing unwillingness to share with others.

stingy implies a marked lack of generosity.

a stingy child, not given to sharing

close suggests keeping a tight grip on one's money and possessions.

folks who are very close when charity calls

niggardly implies giving or spending the very smallest amount possible.

the niggardly amount budgeted for the town library

parsimonious suggests a frugality so extreme as to lead to stinginess.

a parsimonious lifestyle notably lacking in luxuries

penurious implies niggardliness that gives an appearance of actual poverty.

the penurious eccentric bequeathed a fortune

miserly suggests a sordid avariciousness and a morbid pleasure in hoarding.

a miserly couple devoid of social conscience

Examples of close in a Sentence

Verb We had better close the windows; it looks like it's going to rain. I forgot to close the gate. She was having trouble closing the drawer. Close the lid on the box tightly. The door opened and closed so quietly that I didn't notice he had come in the room. The box's lid closed with a bang. Remember to close the box of cereal when you're done. Please close your books and put them under your desks. Close your eyes and go to sleep. I closed my fists and got ready to fight. Adjective We're not there yet, but we're getting close. We stood close together to stay warm. Christmas is getting closer and will soon be here. Their daughters are close in age. close in size and shape Adverb Don't drive so close to the car in front of you. He told me to stay close as we walked through the crowd. The time for a decision is drawing closer. My teammate came in third, and I finished close behind. They sat close together at the dinner table. See More

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

The spill was first spotted and reported on Thursday around 6:30 a.m. and the 67-mile pipeline was closed, while three skimming vessels worked to recover oil on the surface. —

Stepheny Price, Fox News, 21 Nov. 2023 The respective sales will close between December 11 and 21, with multiple lots ending each weekday. —

Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 20 Nov. 2023 The mile-long section of freeway between Alameda Street and Santa Fe Avenue has been closed for more than a week, since a massive pallet fire broke out below it on Nov. 11. —

Julia Wick, Los Angeles Times, 19 Nov. 2023 The show closes with the premiere of part 2 on Dec. 14, told in six episodes. —

Janine Henni, Peoplemag, 19 Nov. 2023 The industry hasn't recovered from the mass defection of physical therapists who fled as practices closed during the COVID-19 pandemic. —

Mark Kreidler | Kaiser Health News, ABC News, 18 Nov. 2023 In New York, the look-back window closes later this month. —

Melinda Newman, Billboard, 18 Nov. 2023 Hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters rallied outside Union Station early Friday evening as D.C. police closed the front entrances and directed people entering and leaving the station to use other doors. —

Ellie Silverman, Washington Post, 17 Nov. 2023 Students have used paper and/or electronic lessons -- along with email or phone access to their teachers -- to occupy a portion of their time at home on those days when their campuses were closed. —

Cynthia Howell, Arkansas Online, 8 Nov. 2023

Adjective

Even though a record number of Americans are expected to travel during the holiday season, experts recommend that dog owners keep their pets out of kennels and other areas, such as dog parks, where infection might be more likely because of crowded conditions and close contact. —

Linda Carroll, NBC News, 22 Nov. 2023 The company at the center of the AI mania is due to report earnings Tuesday after markets close. —

Anna Hirtenstein, WSJ, 21 Nov. 2023 Infectious diseases are spread from close contact with a sick person or surfaces that are contaminated, according to Stacey Rubin Rose, MD, an associate professor of internal medicine and infectious diseases at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. —

Stephanie Brown, Verywell Health, 20 Nov. 2023 Taylor is a tech industry veteran with close ties to Altman; Hurd is a politician who previously served on the OpenAI board. —

Will Knight, WIRED, 20 Nov. 2023 When that man — who became a close family friend — was diagnosed with a different type of leukemia years later, Costello stepped up to return the favor. —

Wendy Grossman Kantor, Peoplemag, 20 Nov. 2023 Nikki Deloach and Ashley Williams first met in an acting class in the early 2000s and have remained close friends throughout the years. —

Staff Author, Southern Living, 20 Nov. 2023 In August that the national party wasn’t doing enough, the DNC announced $1.5 million to support Democratic candidates in some of the state’s closest races. —

Gary Grumbach, NBC News, 9 Nov. 2023 Related Despite the director’s close connection to her subject, Claire Jeffreys has maintained a filmmaker’s distance — while letting a cast of sources speak to her husband’s long history of musically adventurous, socially aware songwriting. —

Thom Duffy, Billboard, 9 Nov. 2023

Adverb

Germany’s Bundesliga was close behind with 46 injuries, though the numbers were far lower for clubs in Spain, Italy, and France. —

Ryan Hogg, Fortune Europe, 20 Nov. 2023 Bud Light is already trying to lure back customers who are boycotting the brand, signing a sponsorship deal with UFC that’s said to be in the $100 million range and working closer with the NFL. —

Chris Morris, Fortune, 16 Nov. 2023 The House Rules Committee meets at 4 p.m. Monday and is expected to hold a procedural vote that would move the government funding legislation out of committee and bring it one step closer from coming to the floor for a formal vote. —

Sara Dorn, Forbes, 13 Nov. 2023 Tustin schools close after asbestos is found in the ashes from a large World War II hangar fire. —

Ryan Fonseca, Los Angeles Times, 10 Nov. 2023 Natural light has a color rendering index rating of 100, so the closer a light can get to that, the better for plants, and this light is at 97. —

Helen Bradshaw, Popular Science, 9 Nov. 2023 Upon looking closer at my files, the ’80s were probably one of the most amazing decades of music, because so many different kinds of music were popular, from Herbie Hancock to Thomas Dolby to Barry Manilow to Bananarama. —

Steve Knopper, Billboard, 6 Nov. 2023 More than 100 days later, the Disney chief gave an update on how the work stoppage has hit his company as talks with the performers’ union could be progressing closer toward a deal. —

Erik Hayden, The Hollywood Reporter, 8 Nov. 2023 Juno finally passed close enough to Ganymede—within 650 miles, less than the distance from New York City to Chicago—to take a close look at the chemicals on its surface using its Jovian InfraRed Auroral Mapper (JIRAM). —

Popular Science, 8 Nov. 2023

Noun

Over the weekend, officers arrested the fourth escapee, bringing the saga to a close. —

Jonathan Edwards, Washington Post, 22 Nov. 2023 If that price holds by Monday’s market close, Microsoft’s market cap, based on its 7.429 billion shares outstanding, will total $2.82 trillion. —

Byrachyl Jones, Fortune, 20 Nov. 2023 As the official ad comes to a close, a behind-the-scenes shot of the commercial gives a real glimpse of the pair 18 years later. —

Antonia Debianchi, Peoplemag, 20 Nov. 2023 The 2001 season came to a close with a 38-16 home win over Wyoming, completing a second straight 3-8 season. —

Kirk Kenney, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Nov. 2023 Even so, its absurdist lunacy acts as a Trojan Horse containing genuinely meaningful sentiments on forgiveness, happiness and bittersweet sorrows — universalities people tend to reflect on as their year comes to a close. —

Courtney Howard, Variety, 16 Nov. 2023 It is set to be the largest venue of its kind in both Africa and the Arab world and will host symphony, ballet, opera, and philharmonic performances (all of the above are anticipated before 2023 comes to a close). —

Cnt Editors, Condé Nast Traveler, 15 Nov. 2023 As a record-breaking year for travel volume comes to a close, all eyes are on 2024. —

Chris Dong, Travel + Leisure, 14 Nov. 2023 As the night came to a close, DJ Twilo blasted Believe by Cher, prompting guests, such as Chelsea Clinton, Lauren Bush Lauren and David Lauren, and Alexandra Lind Rose, among others, to the dance floor to cap off a memorable evening filled with hope and promise. —

Maia Torres, Vogue, 10 Nov. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'close.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb and Noun (1)

Middle English, from Anglo-French clos-, stem of clore, from Latin claudere to shut, close; perhaps akin to Greek kleiein to close — more at clavicle

Adjective

Middle English clos, from Anglo-French, from Latin clausus, past participle of claudere — see close entry 1

Noun (2)

Middle English clos, literally, enclosure, from Anglo-French clos, from Latin clausum, from neuter of clausus, past participle

First Known Use

Verb

13th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Adjective

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 12

Adverb

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Noun (1)

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Noun (2)

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1b

Time Traveler

The first known use of close was in the 13th century

See more words from the same century

Phrases Containing close

Cite this Entry

Style

“Close.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/close. Accessed 3 Dec. 2023.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

1 of 5 verb

ˈklōz

closed; closing

: to move so as to prevent passage through something

close the gate

: to block against passage

close a street

: to stop the operations of

close school early

—often used with down

: to bring or come to an end or conclusion

close a deal

the meeting closed with a song

close the computer program

: to bring together the parts or edges of

a closed fist

close the book

: to draw near

the second-place runner was closing fast

: to engage in a struggle at close quarters

close with the enemy

closer noun

2 of 5 noun

ˈklōz

: the point at which something ends

3 of 5 noun

ˈklōs

: an enclosed area

4 of 5 adjective

ˈklōs

closer; closest

: having no openings : closed

: hidden from sight

: not open or frank : secretive

: rigorous sense 1

keep close watch

: hot and stuffy

: not generous : stingy

close with money

: having little space between items or units

flying in close formation

: fitting tightly or exactly

: very short or near the surface

a close haircut

: being near in time, space, effect, or degree

: having a strong liking each one for the other

a close friend

: very precise and attentive to details

close measurements

a close observer

: decided by a narrow margin

a close race

closely adverb

closeness noun

5 of 5 adverb

ˈklōs

: in a close position or manner

Legal Definition

1 of 2 verb

closed; closing

transitive verb

: to bring to an end or to a state of completion

closed the case

close an estate by liquidating its assets

closing his account

: to conclude discussion or negotiation about

also : to bring to completion by performing something previously agreed

closing a merger

close the property sale

intransitive verb

: to enter into or complete an agreement (as for the sale of real estate)

they closed on the house

: to come to an end or to a state of completion

after the class closes, the trust shall continue…until the death of the last surviving member of the class—

Louisiana Revised Statutes

2 of 2 noun

: an enclosed area

break another's close

Biographical Definition

biographical name

ˈklōz

commonly

ˈklōs

Chuck 1940– Charles Thomas Close American painter

Last Updated: 23 Nov 2023 - Updated example sentences

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close

verb

adjective

adverb

noun (1)

noun (2)

Synonyms

Examples of close in a Sentence

Word History

Dictionary Entries Near close

Cite this Entry

Kids Definition

Legal Definition

Biographical Definition

biographical name