close-in

adjective

\ ˈklōs-ˈin

Definition of close-in

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : near a center of activity and especially a city close-in suburbs

2 : occurring or designed for use within a narrowly limited area close-in fighting close-in weapons

close in

verb

\ ˈklōz-

Definition of close in (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

1 : to encircle closely and isolate

2 : to enshroud to such an extent as to preclude entrance or exit the airport was closed in by the storm

intransitive verb

1 : to gather in close all around with an oppressing or isolating effect despair closed in on her

2 : to approach to close quarters especially for an attack, raid, or arrest the police closed in

3 : to grow dark the short November day was already closing in— Ellen Glasgow

Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about close-in

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Examples of close-in in a Sentence

Verb

the eagle closed in on its prey with evening closing in we knew we had to find shelter fairly soon

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Coming off a split in two straight overtime games, the Lakers kept it close in the first half, trailing 65-55 at the break. — Beth Harris, The Seattle Times, "Thompson hits first 10 from 3, Warriors beat Lakers 130-111," 22 Jan. 2019 Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina got close in 2010 (49 percent) and 2014 (48 percent). — Matthew Defranks, Sun-Sentinel.com, "A Closer Look: Miami Marlins 3, Tampa Bay Rays 0," 4 July 2018 Petrino’s team came close in 2010, losing 24-20, but dropped the other three games, 49-14, 35-7 and 38-14. — Jake Lourim, The Courier-Journal, "The key for Louisville vs. Alabama is to do what past teams haven't," 19 June 2018 During the season-opening losing streak, the Fever had been close in many games but unable to finish. — Andrew Hussey, Indianapolis Star, "Fever snap 10-game losing streak with dominant victory over the Atlanta Dream," 16 June 2018 The Arrington nod was at 4:12 p.m. ET, less than three hours before the polls close in South Carolina. — Ed Kilgore, Daily Intelligencer, "Trump Starts Endorsing Candidates Shortly Before Polls Close," 12 June 2018 Aside from these being top systems on the market today, this grouping appealed to me because the Eero is close in cost and Orbi, although more expensive for fewer pieces, is nearly the same actual hardware. — Jim Salter, Ars Technica, "Exclusive: Plume’s new “Superpod” hardware is here—and it’s fast," 12 June 2018 That was the Vikings’ (19-4) closest in-state game this season, with its only defeats coming against teams from California, Illinois and Oregon. — Tj Cotterill, The Seattle Times, "Rainier Beach holds off Ingraham to win SeaKing District boys championship," 18 Feb. 2019 The portfolios typically assign employees close in age to an identical portfolio, such as 90% in stocks and 10% in bonds for a 25-year-old. — Anne Tergesen, WSJ, "How Your 401(k) Could Imitate Netflix," 14 Feb. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'close-in.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.