narrow

adjective nar·row \ ˈner-(ˌ)ō , ˈna-(ˌ)rō \

Updated on: 11 Apr 2018

Definition of narrow

1 a : of slender width

a long and narrow room

b : of less than standard or usual width

a narrow sidewalk

c of a textile : woven in widths usually less than 18 inches (46 centimeters)

2 : limited in size or scope

a narrow interpretation

3 a : illiberal (see illiberal d) in views or disposition : prejudiced

the days of cold hearts and narrow minds
—T. B. Macaulay

b chiefly dialectal : stingy, niggardly

4 a : barely sufficient : close

won by a narrow margin

b : barely successful

a narrow escape

5 : minutely precise : meticulous

a narrow inspection

6 of an animal ration : relatively rich in protein as compared with carbohydrate and fat

7 : tense 3

—

narrowly

adverb

—

narrowness

noun

See narrow defined for English-language learners

See narrow defined for kids

Examples of narrow in a Sentence

The city's ancient streets are too narrow for buses.
We crossed at the narrowest part of the river.
His shoulders are very narrow.
within the narrow limits allowed by law
They offer a narrow range of flavors: chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla.
the study's narrow focus on 30-year-old men
The study was narrow in scope.
a narrow view of politics

Recent Examples of narrow from the Web

The two teams traded baskets in the first two minutes and Mobile held a narrow 49-47 advantage.

— mobile athletics, AL.com, "Mobile Women's Basketball Holds On for 66-61 Victory Over Dillard," 4 Nov. 2017
All of Delta’s long-haul wide-body fleet has satellite service, and 238 of about 700 mainline narrow-body jets have been upgraded to Gogo’s satellite service as of Oct. 20.

— scott mccartney, WSJ, "Cut Through the Confusion of In-Flight Wi-Fi," 25 Oct. 2017
Trump, meanwhile, gained an even more powerful enemy in the Senate, where Republicans hold a narrow two-seat majority.

— vanityfair.com, "“Alarming and Dangerous”: Republican Senator Denounces Trump in Fiery Resignation Speech," 24 Oct. 2017
The deal gives Airbus a smaller narrow-body aircraft fitting below its own A320-series models and competing with the smallest variants of Boeing’s workhorse 737.

— frederic tomesco, Bloomberg.com, "Bombardier Surges as Much as 25%, Most in 18 Months," 18 Oct. 2017
That includes last week's 24-20 narrow escape against Eastern Michigan.

— gentry estes, The Courier-Journal, "Follow along as Kentucky football hosts Missouri in an SEC showdown at Kroger Field," 7 Oct. 2017
In years past, for instance, dancers have frolicked in public fountains, executed seductive tango moves in a narrow alley and rolled down grassy slopes.

— marcia manna, Pacific San Diego Magazine, "Trolley Dances, a San Diego staple for more than 20 years, is back," 27 Sep. 2017
With their narrow Senate majority, defections by three GOP senators would doom the bill.

— alan fram, The Seattle Times, "As senators defect, GOP concedes health bill’s fate bleak," 26 Sep. 2017
The Boeing 757, a twin-engine narrow-body airliner, has fulfilled this role for many carriers ever since regulations were lifted allowing twin-engine commercial jets to cross the Atlantic.

— david grossman, Popular Mechanics, "What Will Airplanes Look Like in Ten Years?," 13 Sep. 2017

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

Origin and Etymology of narrow

Middle English narowe, from Old English nearu; akin to Old High German narwa scar

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: before 12th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

narrow Synonyms

narrow

verb

Definition of narrow

transitive verb

1 : to decrease the breadth or extent of : contract —often used with down

2 : to decrease the scope or sphere of : limit —often used with down

narrow down the choices

intransitive verb

: to lessen in width or extent : contract —often used with down

See narrow defined for English-language learners

Examples of narrow in a Sentence

The path was narrowed by overgrowth.
His eyes narrowed as he focused on the words in front of him.
The vase narrows at its top.
narrowing the range of options
You'll need to narrow the focus of your paper to one central idea.
The gap between their salaries was beginning to narrow.

Recent Examples of narrow from the Web

From those interviews, the list of potential developers would be narrowed, with the Village Board approving a short list of firms early next month, according to a village timetable.

— mike nolan, Daily Southtown, "Mold cleanup in Main Street Triangle to cost Orland Park $200,000," 6 Apr. 2018
After a dramatic Hollywood Week, the pool has been narrowed to the top 24 contestants and, in the upcoming episode on Sunday, 12 artists will perform duets with some pretty spectacular celebrity partners.

— christina dugan, PEOPLE.com, "Lea Michele, Bebe Rexha and More Join American Idol Contestants for All-Star Duet Week," 5 Apr. 2018
Now 14th Street has been narrowed and curb ramps improved, shortening crossing distances.

— alissa walker, Curbed, "How 10-year stroke survivor Steven L. Patterson gets around St. Louis," 5 Apr. 2018
Déjà vu Smith was formerly the mayor of Mesa, where another important thoroughfare — Main Street — was also narrowed to one vehicle lane in each direction when light rail was extended there.

— jessica boehm, azcentral, "Business owners oppose south central light-rail extension, Phoenix moves ahead anyway," 5 Apr. 2018
The bill's scope has been narrowed, but not enough to appease prosecutors and DeWine, who is now running to be the Republican nominee in November's gubernatorial election.

— jackie borchardt, cleveland.com, "Should Ohio pay wrongfully imprisoned ex-inmates if prosecutors withhold evidence?," 4 Apr. 2018
Those survivors underwent one-on-one interviews, and the final pool was narrowed to 102.

— connor smith, Philly.com, "76ers pick players for its new NBA 2K18 gaming team," 4 Apr. 2018
When those are narrowed to four cities, McCarthy and Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville will tour each site and recommend the winner to Army Secretary Mark Esper and Chief of Staff Mark Milley, who will make the decision.

— lee roop, AL.com, "Army's new Futures Command coming into clearer view in Alabama," 26 Mar. 2018
The lengthy back-and-forth between its factories and the New York headquarters will soon be narrowed dramatically, if all goes according to plan.

— christina binkley, WSJ, "The Secret Inside Tiffany’s Blue Box: Reed Krakoff," 26 Mar. 2018

Origin and Etymology of narrow

see ¹narrow

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: before 12th century

in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

See Words from the same year

narrow

noun

Definition of narrow

: a narrow part or passage; specifically : a strait connecting two bodies of water —usually used in pl. but singular or plural in construction

Recent Examples of narrow from the Web

To Vista Point/trailhead parking: From campgrounds (no RVs or trailers allowed past campgrounds), continue ahead, make a very sharp left turn and continue (the roads narrows, so drive slowly) for 0.2 of a mile to parking and restroom on right.

— tom stienstra, San Francisco Chronicle, "Castle Crags’ spectacular little seen world," 5 Apr. 2018
Still, with every new bomb discovered, the evidence grows and, investigators hope, the space between the hunter and the hunted narrows ever so slightly.

— manny fernandez, serge f. kovaleski and john ismay, New York Times, "For Austin Bomb Investigators, Each New Blast Offers New Clues," 20 Mar. 2018
While the jobs gap between blacks and whites narrows, other economic gaps between the races persist. Valerie Wilson, demographic economist at Economic Policy Institute, points to huge disparities in wealth.

— sharon nunn, WSJ, "After 40 Years, the Black-White Labor Force Participation Gap Has All But Closed," 11 Mar. 2018
Planted rainbow can be caught from shore near the first dam and the narrows.

— sacbee, "Fishing line: Sturgeon bite continues in Suisun Bay, salmon slows on American River," 11 Dec. 2017
The park, about 15 miles east of Wausau in Marathon County, gets its name from the Eau Claire River (one of three in Wisconsin) that cuts through a dramatic gorge, or dells, from the French word dalles, which means narrows or gorge.

— chelsey lewis, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Dells of the Eau Claire is a gorgeous county park near Wausau," 2 Nov. 2017
In Washington, Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins has to be seeing his free agent market narrow.

— conor orr, SI.com, "Aftermath of the Jimmy Garoppolo Trade: Panic in Cleveland?," 31 Oct. 2017
Shore anglers continue to pick trout from the narrows with Power Bait or nightcrawlers.

— sacbee, "Salmon finally show up on American River | The Sacramento Bee," 10 Oct. 2017
Should the poison radius narrow in an unwelcome way, those high-up snipers will build a floating bridge toward safety.

— sam machkovech, Ars Technica, "PUBG vs. Fortnite: A game-genre copycat face-off heats up," 23 Sep. 2017

Origin and Etymology of narrow

see ¹narrow

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 13th century

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

NARROW Defined for English Language Learners

narrow

adjective

Definition of narrow for English Language Learners

: long and not wide : small from one side to the other side
: including or involving a small number of things or people : limited in range or amount
: almost not successful : very close to failure : almost not enough for success

narrow

verb

Definition of narrow for English Language Learners

: to make (something) less wide
: to become less wide
: to make (something) smaller in amount or range

NARROW Defined for Kids

narrow

adjective nar·row \ ˈner-ō \

Definition of narrow for Students

narrower; narrowest

1 : of slender or less than usual width

…Kino ran straight to the narrow dock where the fishing boats bobbed up and down…
—Pearl S. Buck, The Big Wave

2 : limited in size or extent

We had a narrow range of choices.

3 : not broad or open in mind or views

They are narrow in their thinking.

4 : barely successful : close

We made a narrow escape.

—

narrowly

adverb

—

narrowness

noun

narrow

verb

Definition of narrow for Students

narrowed; narrowing

1 : to make or become less wide

… his yellow eyes narrowed to slits.
—Scott O'Dell, Island of the Blue Dolphins

2 : to limit in number : become fewer

The list of candidates has been narrowed to ten.

narrow

noun

Definition of narrow for Students

: a narrow passage connecting two bodies of water —usually used in pl.

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See words that rhyme with narrow Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for narrow Spanish Central: Translation of narrow Nglish: Translation of narrow for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of narrow for Arabic speakers

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narrow

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narrow

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