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

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 messenger also conducted Handsome Lake along the narrow path of the righteous, which was surrounded by flowers and delicious fruit.

— Longreads, "America’s First Addiction Epidemic," 29 Aug. 2017
In a similar vein, some union leaders have conceded that many of their members voted for Mr. Trump, whose margin of defeat among union households was the narrowest for a Republican nominee since Ronald Reagan.

— noam scheiber, New York Times, "Service Union Plans Big Push to Turn Midwest Political Tide," 24 Aug. 2017
Tomorrow's solar eclipse is only truly total for those lucky enough to live in the eclipse's path, a narrow strip of the country that spans the northwest to the southeast.

— gabrielle bruney, Esquire, "NASA Made a Simulation That Shows the View You'll Get of the Eclipse," 20 Aug. 2017
Traffic was backed up early Thursday on U.S. Highway 26 west of Prineville, the last town before the turnoff for an eclipse-themed festival that’s expected to attract 30,000 people in a remote area with narrow, one-lane roads.

— gillian flaccus, The Seattle Times, "Eclipse traffic already heavy in central Oregon," 17 Aug. 2017
Now in its 23rd year, the flamboyant fest draws as many as 300,000 people to Whiting's narrow 119th Street corridor for a lighthearted three-day tribute to its Eastern European past.

— meredith colias, Post-Tribune, "Pierogi Fest offers good helpings of ethnic culture," 28 July 2017
Overnight, the MSCI Asia Pacific Index slipped 0.2 percent, while Japan's Topix index dropped 0.3 percent as major regional gauges traded in narrow ranges.

— lorcan roche kelly, Bloomberg.com, "Five Things You Need to Know to Start Your Day," 25 July 2017
Only your troubles can follow you through a straight and narrow line.

— megan o'brien, Harper's BAZAAR, "Inside the Elite Weight Loss Camp for Wealthy Women," 25 July 2017
Previously, the pollution equipment was programmed to operate at maximum effectiveness only under a narrow range of temperatures.

— jack ewing and prashant s. rao, New York Times, "Daimler to Modify 3 Million Mercedes Cars Over Diesel Concerns," 18 July 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

See Words from the same year

narrow Synonyms

Synonyms

fine, hairline, needlelike, paper-thin, skinny, slender, slim, slim-jim, thin, ultrathin

Antonyms

broad, fat, wide

Related Words

attenuate, attenuated, elongate (or elongated), linear; bottleneck, close, compressed, condensed, constricted, contracted, squeezed, tight, tightened; lanky, rangy, reedy, shoestring, spindly, stalky, stringy, twiggy, willowy, wispy; lank, spare

Near Antonyms

chunky, squat, stocky, stumpy, thick, thickset; bulky, massive, voluminous; thickish, widish

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

Fletcher Page / The C-J New Albany five-star basketball recruit Romeo Langford narrowed his list to seven schools this week.

— fletcher page, The Courier-Journal, "New Albany five-star Romeo Langford narrows list to seven schools," 28 Aug. 2017
The company launched its first sedan in 1993 but narrowed its focus a decade ago to SUVs.

— Washington Post, "China’s Great Wall considers bid for Fiat Chrysler Jeep unit," 21 Aug. 2017
Brazil’s supreme court ruled yesterday in favor of two tribes that had challenged a measure that would have narrowed indigenous people’s territorial rights.

— barbara fraser, Science | AAAS, "Maps reveal how Amazon development is closing in on isolated tribes," 17 Aug. 2017
With Shotspotter, the search area narrows to a 25-meter square.

— cameron knight, Cincinnati.com, "Does ShotSpotter reduce gun violence? Researchers don't know," 11 Aug. 2017
The presidential race between President Uhuru Kenyatta, son of Kenya’s first president, and opposition leader Raila Odinga, son of the country’s first vice president, has narrowed.

— khaled kazziha, The Seattle Times, "Kenya’s most famous activist campaigns for parliament," 4 Aug. 2017
The region’s current-account deficit narrowed by 1.4 percentage points of GDP last year (to 2.1%).

— The Economist, "Latin America’s disappointing economic growth," 20 July 2017
The incoming senior defensive end had narrowed his final three choices to Indiana, Iowa State and Boston College.

— bob narang, Post-Tribune, "Marist's Gavin McCabe joins list of Indiana's Chicago-area recruits," 23 June 2017
St. X coach Will Wolford, who played at Vanderbilt from 1982-85, said Smock recently had narrowed his choices to Vanderbilt, Purdue and Louisville.

— jason frakes, The Courier-Journal, "St. Xavier lineman Wyatt Smock commits to Vanderbilt University," 21 June 2017

Origin and Etymology of narrow

see ¹narrow

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: before 12th century

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

PITTSBURGH -- As Pittsburgh Steelers training camp continues, preseason games near and a semblance of a depth settles into place, the path to the 53-man roster narrows.

— jacob klinger, cleveland.com, "Steelers camp kick returners weigh roster opportunity," 7 Aug. 2017
Bass bite has slowed but there is still a few coming from the narrows.

— sacbee, "Salmon season off to slow start, but there are signs of hope," 31 July 2017
The second imperative is to make sure that edtech narrows, rather than widens, inequalities in education.

— The Economist, "Education technologyTogether, technology and teachers can revamp schools," 22 July 2017
While those tools remove clues, once it is known that a system was hacked the knowledge that such a tool was used narrows down the field of suspects.

— patrick marshall, The Seattle Times, "Sluggish connection, lots of data can slow backup to cloud," 7 July 2017
A caustic comedy about country and class, the play intends to skewer working-class narrow-mindedness and liberal condescension.

— alexis soloski, New York Times, "Review: ‘Invincible’ Brings Class and Conflict to the Party," 18 June 2017
After passing through the villages of Princeville and Hanalei, the road narrows and motorists must navigate seven one-lane bridges to reach Hanalei Colony.

— jay jones, latimes.com, "The perfect spot for your dream Hawaiian beach wedding, from $500 to $8,000," 15 June 2017
Fishing is still good in the narrows for kokanee salmon.

— colorado parks & wildlife, The Denver Post, "Colorado fishing report for week of June 11, 2017," 11 June 2017
If the interest rate gap between CalPERS’ investment returns and the $6 billion cash loan narrows, the savings may be less, but the scale of savings should still be significant.

— john moorlach, The Mercury News, "Opinion: Is Jerry Brown’s pension-paydown plan a boon or a boondoggle?," 8 June 2017

Origin and Etymology of narrow

see ¹narrow

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 13th century

See Words from the same year

NARROW Defined for English Language Learners

narrow

play

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

play

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.

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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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