near

adverb

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\ ˈnir

Definition of near

(Entry 1 of 4)

1 : at, within, or to a short distance or time sunset was drawing near

2 : almost, nearly was near dead

3 : in a close or intimate manner : closely near related

4 archaic : in a frugal manner

near

preposition

Definition of near (Entry 2 of 4)

: close to beaches near the city seemed to be near death

near

adjective

Definition of near (Entry 3 of 4)

1a : not far distant in time, place, or degree in the near future

b : almost happening : narrowly missed or avoided a near win in the primary a near midair collision

c : nearly not happening a near escape

2 : closely related or intimately associated her nearest and dearest friend

3a : being the closer of two the near side

b : being the left-hand one of a pair the near wheel of a cart

4 : direct, short the nearest road

5 : stingy, closefisted

6a : closely resembling the standard or typical a near desert

b : approximating the genuine near silk

near

verb

neared; nearing; nears

Definition of near (Entry 4 of 4)

: approach

Other Words from near Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Phrases Containing near Learn More About near

Synonyms & Antonyms for near

Synonyms: Adverb

Synonyms: Preposition

Synonyms: Adjective

Synonyms: Verb

Antonyms: Adjective

Antonyms: Verb

Examples of near in a Sentence

Adverb The plant was near dead when I got it. as the campers grew cold, so they gravitated nearer to the campfire Preposition I left the box near the door. The cat won't go near fire. There are several beaches near here. She came home near midnight. We feared he was near death. Adjective The nearest grocery store is three blocks away. The near side headlight is out. Verb As the date of the performance neared, we grew more and more anxious. He always cheers up when baseball season nears. The airplane began to descend as it neared the island. He must be nearing 80 years of age. The negotiators were nearing a decision. See More

Recent Examples on the Web: Adverb That can be a risky proposition, as creators face a near-constant battle against platform moderation efforts that can sometimes ensnare people who are not violating a company’s rules. — Kat Tenbarge, NBC News, 17 June 2022 Though conditions now are nowhere near as distressing as earlier in the pandemic, officials and experts say some protective measures are warranted during periods of elevated coronavirus spread. — Luke Money, Los Angeles Times, 14 June 2022 The correlation between Bitcoin and the S&P 500 reached all-time highs on Jan. 31, Bank of America analysts wrote in the report, when the correlation between Bitcoin and the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 also were near all-time highs. — Fortune, 12 May 2022 Residents said the Russians had used airstrikes that left large craters, especially around one of the churches in town, but were nowhere near as frequently as artillery fire. — New York Times, 6 May 2022 The Soviet and the American economies were not as intertwined, and the U.S. and Russian economy are nowhere near as intertwined as between us and China. — Washington Post, 3 May 2022 In addition, your downtime risks will be near-zero in comparison with on-premises infrastructure. — Expert Panel®, Forbes, 17 Mar. 2022 Just four years later, Bill got into a near-fatal car accident. — Madeleine Hordinski, The Enquirer, 14 Feb. 2022 Charging your car is still nowhere near as easy as gassing up, especially when compared to Europe. — Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 10 Feb. 2022 Recent Examples on the Web: Preposition Low storm chances will be possible mid-afternoon today near and east of the DFW area. — Dallas News, 6 June 2020 The mural ends near St. John’s Episcopal Church, where Trump staged a photo-op on Monday after officers in riot gear fired tear gas and charged demonstrators to make way for the president and his entourage. — Ben Fox, Anchorage Daily News, 5 June 2020 In April, Virgin Atlantic temporarily suspended all passenger flights after weeks of operating near-empty flights due to the coronavirus pandemic. — Cailey Rizzo, Travel + Leisure, 5 June 2020 Chaos inside the barbecue shack An LMPD officer fired pepper balls to disperse people near the barbecue shack, and then into the kitchen through the open door, video released by police shows. — Kala Kachmar, The Courier-Journal, 5 June 2020 For the most part, Black Mirror is a series extrapolating the dark ramifications of humanity’s obsession with technology to dystopian near-future settings. — Adam Epstein, Quartz, 5 June 2020 The path its leaders took in their efforts to lift weak growth, chronically low inflation and near-zero interest rates has been followed, repeatedly, by others in the rich world. — The Economist, 4 June 2020 Prices reflect the storage glut: Henry Hub near-term futures are at $1.82 per million British thermal units, just 27 cents above their multiyear low... — Jinjoo Lee, WSJ, 4 June 2020 Van Nuys had its hottest May ever recorded, and several other SoCal cities experienced near-record highs. — Arlene Martinez, USA TODAY, 3 June 2020 Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective Those close to Ross encourage donations to local chapters of the Humane Society in his name, and an East Coast memorial service will be announced in the near future. — Selome Hailu, Variety, 22 June 2022 Unfortunately, there's no way to go back to bull market times—at least not in the near future. — Alicia Adamczyk, Fortune, 22 June 2022 Pieces of the galleon’s lower hull could still be hidden nearby; the team hopes to recover additional hull fragments from other caves in the near future. — Meilan Solly, Smithsonian Magazine, 22 June 2022 Following the release of Proof, BTS announced the group will be going on hiatus, and the seven members will be focusing on solo projects in the near future. — Emily Zemler, Rolling Stone, 21 June 2022 With Netflix planning to bring ads to its service in the near future, that would certainly be an effective way to kickstart the process. — Jacob Siegal, BGR, 21 June 2022 With Apple exploring next-generation display options, will the mini-LED roll down the portfolio in the near future? — Ewan Spence, Forbes, 21 June 2022 Hopefully, Meg takes this as encouragement that this look is stress-reducing for us, too, and pulls it out again in the near future. — Rosemary Donahue, Allure, 20 June 2022 What that currently translates to is a collection of interactive experiences that takes visitors into a vision of the near future. — Nicola Chilton, CNN, 20 June 2022 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb If all goes well, the big-budget summer pic should near or cross $200 million globally in its debut. — Pamela Mcclintock, The Hollywood Reporter, 27 May 2022 Most episodes will run close to 75 minutes long, and episode 7 will near the 98-minute mark. — Tomás Mier, Rolling Stone, 23 May 2022 Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at fuel savings company GasBuddy, predicted average gas prices may soon near $4.50 in a statement. — Forbes Staff Reports, Forbes, 4 Mar. 2022 Temperatures, however, plummeted from the mid-80s to near freezing in less than a day after a strong cold front passed through San Antonio and South Central Texas on Wednesday. — Timothy Fanning, San Antonio Express-News, 24 Feb. 2022 Rain should take over most of the area overnight as temperatures spike to near or past 40 before dropping a bit into sunrise. — Washington Post, 15 Jan. 2022 Wind chills will drop into the teens in the northern part of the state to near freezing in Miami. — Jay Croft, CNN, 29 Jan. 2022 Fresno, California, could also near its all-time temperature record of 115 degrees on Sunday. — Allison Chinchar, CNN, 11 July 2021 Several cities in Colorado, including Denver, Boulder and Fort Collins, are expected to near or reach triple-digit heat Tuesday. — Editors, USA TODAY, 15 June 2021 See More

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