next to

1 of 2

preposition

1

: immediately following or adjacent to

2

: in comparison to

next to you I'm wealthy

next to

2 of 2

adverb

: very nearly : almost

it was next to impossible to see in the fog

Synonyms of next to

Preposition

• near
• around
• next door to
• beside
• by
• at

Adverb

• almost
• nearly
• practically
• just about
• fairly
• about
• pretty much

Examples of next to in a Sentence

Preposition

enjoys living next to the ocean

next to the war, the flagging economy was the biggest campaign issue

Adverb

bought it for next to nothing

Recent Examples on the Web

Preposition

Lisa Marie's first husband, Danny Keough, is seen standing next to Lockwood with his right arm around the man and his left arm around daughter Riley Keough, who is holding a baby in her arms. —Kimi Robinson, USA Today, 23 Dec. 2025

None of the shots hit the armed man, but a man standing next to him was wounded, CMPD said in an affidavit. —Mark Price, Charlotte Observer, 23 Dec. 2025

Adverb

Lined up next to rookie left tackle Josh Simmons and veteran center Creed Humphrey, Suamataia took some lumps in the first two preseason games before settling in for a clean sheet in the third look against the Bears. —Kansas City Star, 8 Jan. 2026

Betsy claimed that the agents were standing next to and behind the SUV near the driver's side window before and at the moment shots were fired, but no agents were in front of the vehicle at the time. —Gaby Vinick, ABC News, 7 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Preposition

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adverb

1596, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for next to

• accrue
• ado
• ainu
• aircrew
• airscrew
• anew
• askew
• baboo
• babu
• bamboo
• beaucoup
• bijou

Kids Definition

next to

1 of 2 preposition

: immediately following : being close to

next to the head of her class

next to

2 of 2 adverb

: very nearly : almost