as in narrow escape
a barely successful escape from something undesirable
the passengers in the jeep had a close shave when a mine exploded just a few yards away
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Recent Examples of close shave
Cartridge razors feature disposable cartridges, where two to six blades are tightly spaced for a quick, close shave.
—
Annie Blackman, Allure, 27 Mar. 2025
The metal of the razor is protected by a ceramic guard, ensuring there’s no tugging or cutting the skin while still allowing for a close shave.
—Annie Blackman, Allure, 1 Mar. 2025
The metal of the razor is protected by a ceramic guard, ensuring there’s no tugging or cutting the skin while still allowing for a close shave.
—Annie Blackman, Allure, 1 Mar. 2025
Looking Ahead: The Anteaters survived an extremely close shave with a talented UC Santa Barbara team last Thursday to stay alive in the at-large picture.
—Jim Root, The Athletic, 20 Feb. 2025
Both losses were close shaves, 51-47 to T.F. South and 45-42 to Oak Lawn.
—Jeff Vorva, Chicago Tribune, 14 Feb. 2025
Safety razors and straight razors are quite easy to shave with (and get you a close shave), but there is a small learning curve.
—Parker Hall, WIRED, 2 Feb. 2025
Both Vicario and Forster, his deputy, have had their share of close shaves this season, most recently at Bournemouth a couple of weeks ago, where Kulusevski felt like a sitting duck for Tyler Adams when the straight pass arrived.
—Stuart James, The Athletic, 19 Dec. 2024
Panasonic electric razor: on sale for $129 Original price: $209.99
Any man who wants an incredibly close shave will love the Panasonic electric razor.
—Christopher Murray, Fox News, 31 Oct. 2024
Annie Blackman, Allure, 27 Mar. 2025
The metal of the razor is protected by a ceramic guard, ensuring there’s no tugging or cutting the skin while still allowing for a close shave.
—Annie Blackman, Allure, 1 Mar. 2025
The metal of the razor is protected by a ceramic guard, ensuring there’s no tugging or cutting the skin while still allowing for a close shave.
—Annie Blackman, Allure, 1 Mar. 2025
Looking Ahead: The Anteaters survived an extremely close shave with a talented UC Santa Barbara team last Thursday to stay alive in the at-large picture.
—Jim Root, The Athletic, 20 Feb. 2025
Both losses were close shaves, 51-47 to T.F. South and 45-42 to Oak Lawn.
—Jeff Vorva, Chicago Tribune, 14 Feb. 2025
Safety razors and straight razors are quite easy to shave with (and get you a close shave), but there is a small learning curve.
—Parker Hall, WIRED, 2 Feb. 2025
Both Vicario and Forster, his deputy, have had their share of close shaves this season, most recently at Bournemouth a couple of weeks ago, where Kulusevski felt like a sitting duck for Tyler Adams when the straight pass arrived.
—Stuart James, The Athletic, 19 Dec. 2024
Panasonic electric razor: on sale for $129 Original price: $209.99
Any man who wants an incredibly close shave will love the Panasonic electric razor.
—Christopher Murray, Fox News, 31 Oct. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for close shave
Noun
-
While this is a close call, Ultimate Rewards points are likely to be most useful for most people.—
Jason Stauffer,
CNBC,
25 Apr. 2025
-
In addition to serious safety concerns over the tower fight and the mid-air collision, two sources specifically mentioned the close call between a Delta Air Lines flight departing Reagan National and an Air Force jet at the end of March.—
Kris Van Cleave,
CBS News,
8 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Close shave.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/close%20shave. Accessed 3 May. 2025.
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