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
Meant to be used anywhere and everywhere, this delivers a smooth and close shave by reducing friction with allantoin and infusing skin with shea butter, glycerin and squalane for softness and moisture.
—
Celia Shatzman, Forbes.com, 29 June 2025
The floating, vibrating head gave me a really close shave, especially with my shaving cream.
—Malia Griggs, Glamour, 16 May 2025
Their characters have had plenty of close shaves, although most didn't involve razors.
—Chris Cosgrove, EW.com, 17 Apr. 2025
Cartridge razors feature disposable cartridges, where two to six blades are tightly spaced for a quick, close shave.
—Annie Blackman, Allure, 27 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
Celia Shatzman, Forbes.com, 29 June 2025
The floating, vibrating head gave me a really close shave, especially with my shaving cream.
—Malia Griggs, Glamour, 16 May 2025
Their characters have had plenty of close shaves, although most didn't involve razors.
—Chris Cosgrove, EW.com, 17 Apr. 2025
Cartridge razors feature disposable cartridges, where two to six blades are tightly spaced for a quick, close shave.
—Annie Blackman, Allure, 27 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for close shave
close call
Noun
-
Honeywell started developing the SURF-A system in 2020 when the aviation industry noticed more close calls happening on runways.—
Asher Redd,
FOXNews.com,
1 Sep. 2025
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And for every close call or near-miss there were always the predictable questions.—
Elise Devlin,
New York Times,
25 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Close shave.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/close%20shave. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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