close

[ verb klohz; adjective adverb klohs klohz; noun klohz klohs ]

verb (used with object)

, closed, clos·ing.

1. to put (something) in a position to obstruct an entrance, opening, etc.; shut:

   Close the door, it's freezing in here.

2. to stop or obstruct (a gap, entrance, aperture, etc.):

   If you close that hole in the foundation, you're less likely to get critters in the basement.

   Synonyms: choke, clog, bar

3. to block or hinder passage across or access to:

   Because people were littering, the Parks and Recreation department decided to close the woods to picnickers.

4. to stop or obstruct the entrances, apertures, or gaps in:

   He closed the crate to prevent anything falling out and tied it up.

5. to make (one's mind) unreceptive or inaccessible to:

   Don't close your mind to an opinion just because you don't like the person who expressed it.

6. to bring together the parts of; join; unite (often followed by up ):

   Close up those ranks!

   The surgeon closed the incision.

7. Electricity. to complete (an electrical circuit) by joining the circuit elements:

   The circuit was closed so the current could be measured.

8. to bring to an end:

   The chair then closed the debate and announced that the decision would be given in writing.

   Synonyms: finish, terminate, conclude, end, complete

9. to arrange the final details of; to conclude negotiations about; complete or settle:

   Your sales team also needs to understand their audience properly to be able to close a deal to everyone's satisfaction.

   We close the sale of the house next week.

10. to stop rendering the customary services of:

    We close the store at 7 on weeknights.

11. to terminate or suspend the operation of; to halt the activities of: The police closed the bar for selling liquor to minors.

    The epidemic forced authorities to close the schools.

    The police closed the bar for selling liquor to minors.

12. Nautical. to come near to:

    We closed the cruiser to put our injured captain on board.

13. Metalworking. to reduce the internal diameter of (a tube or the like).
14. Archaic. to shut in or surround on all sides; enclose; cover in:

    to close a bird in a cage.

verb (used without object)

, closed, clos·ing.

1. to become closed; shut: This window is stuck and will not close tight.

   The door closed with a bang.

   This window is stuck and will not close tight.

2. to come together; unite:

   Her lips closed firmly.

3. to come near:

   His pursuers closed rapidly.

4. to grapple; engage in close encounter (often followed by with ):

   We closed with the invaders shortly before sundown.

5. to come to an end; terminate:

   The service closed with a hymn.

6. to cease to offer the customary activities or services:

   The school closed for the summer.

   Synonyms: suspend, stop

7. to complete or reach an agreement, usually as a contract:

   The builder closed with the contractor after negotiations.

   They're closing on the lease for the office now, but we won't be ready to move for a few weeks.

8. (of a theatrical production) to cease to be performed:

   The play closed in New York yesterday and will open in Dallas next week.

9. (of a stock, group of stocks, etc.) to be priced or show a change in price as specified at the end of a trading period:

   The market closed low for the fourth straight day.

adjective

, clos·er, clos·est.

1. having the parts or elements near to one another:

   The close formation of battleships made it impossible to pass.

2. compact; dense:

   The bread's crumb has a close texture.

   A fabric with a close weave will be more waterproof.

   Synonyms: solid, firm

3. being in or having proximity in space or time:

   The barn is so close to the house that I can hear the animals from my bedroom.

   His birthday is in May, close to mine.

   Synonyms: nearby, proximate, immediate

4. marked by similarity in degree, action, feeling, etc.:

   This dark pink is close to red.

   He left her close to tears.

5. near in kind or relationship:

   You should get screened regularly for breast cancer, especially if a close relative, such as a parent or sibling, has had it.

6. emotionally intimate or strongly united; dear:

   It's a rare blessing to have such a close circle of friends.

   My sister and I have always been very close—I tell her everything.

7. fitting tightly:

   She wore a close, clingy top paired with loose, flowing pants.

8. (of a haircut or shave, the mowing of a lawn, etc.) so executed that the hair, grass, etc., is left flush with the surface or very short:

   The mower delivers a smooth, close cut to leave your lawn looking great every time.

9. strict; searching; minute:

   The matter requires close investigation.

   Synonyms: concentrated, intent

10. not deviating from a subject, a model, an original, etc.:

    The first volume is a close, literal translation, but the second volume strays farther from the source text.

    Synonyms: faithful, accurate, exacting

11. nearly even or equal:

    It was a close contest, with both teams scoring goal after goal, but we won in the end.

12. strictly logical:

    The book is remarkable for its close reasoning and excellent use of academic sources.

13. shut; shut tight; not open:

    A close hatch is needed to keep the water out.

14. shut in; enclosed:

    I thought all the sheep were close, but my sister just saw one of the ewes on the hillside.

15. completely enclosing or surrounding:

    It was a close siege, preventing all escape.

16. without opening; with all openings covered or closed:

    For winter storage, make sure the entire boat is as close as it can possibly be.

17. confined; narrow:

    close quarters.

18. lacking fresh or freely circulating air:

    a hot, close room.

19. heavy; oppressive:

    a spell of close, sultry weather.

    Synonyms: humid, sultry, muggy

20. practicing or keeping secrecy; secretive; reticent:

    She is so close that you can tell her all your secrets.

    Synonyms: reserved, uncommunicative, taciturn

21. parsimonious; stingy:

    He is very close with his money.

    Synonyms: mean, tight, miserly, penurious

22. scarce, as money:

    Our funds are much too close right now to think about buying another car.

23. not open to public or general admission, competition, etc.:

    The entire parish participated in the close communication.

24. (of a delimiting punctuation mark) occurring at the end of a group of words or characters that is set off, as from surrounding text: close quotes; Compare open ( def 32 ).

    close parentheses;

    close quotes;

    close brackets.

25. Hunting, Angling. closed ( def 8 ).
26. Phonetics. (of a vowel) articulated with a relatively small opening between the tongue and the roof of the mouth. Compare high ( def 23 ), open ( def 35a ).
27. Heraldry. (of a bird) represented as having folded wings:

    an eagle close.

28. Archaic. viscous; not volatile.

adverb

1. in a close manner; closely.
2. near; close by.
3. Heraldry. immediately behind the ears, so as to show no neck:

   a bear's head couped close.

noun

1. the act or fact of closing; the end or conclusion: He seemed distracted during the close of the speech, and ran off the stage as soon as it was finished.

   At the close of day, we like to wind down with a cup of tea and a book.

   He seemed distracted during the close of the speech, and ran off the stage as soon as it was finished.

2. complimentary close ( def ).
3. Music. cadence ( def 7 ).
4. Stock Exchange.
   1. the closing price on a stock.
   2. the closing prices on an exchange market.
5. Chiefly British. an enclosed place or enclosure, especially one beside or surrounding a cathedral or other building.
6. Chiefly British. a short street terminating in a dead end; cul-de-sac.
7. Chiefly Scot. an entry or passage, especially one between the street and the back entry of a building, to a common stairway, or to outbuildings, etc.
8. Archaic. a junction; union.
9. Obsolete. a close encounter; a grapple:

   The fighters met in a fierce close.

verb phrase

1. 1. to approach so as to capture, attack, arrest, etc.:

      The hoodlums closed in on their victim.

   2. to surround or envelop so as to entrap:

      a feeling that the room was closing in upon her.

2. 1. to terminate the operation of; discontinue:

      to close down an air base because of budget cuts.

   2. to attempt to control or eliminate:

      The city must close down drug traffic.

3. 1. to come together in close array; converge:

      The enemy was closing up on us from both flanks.

   2. to bring to an end; cease:

      The company is closing up its overseas operations.

   3. to become silent or uncommunicative:

      I thought we were getting along, but she closed up all of a sudden and I don't know what's wrong.

   4. Printing. to reduce or eliminate spacing material between (units of set type).
4. 1. to reduce the price of (merchandise) for quick sale:

      That store is closing out its stock of men's clothing.

   2. to liquidate or dispose of finally and completely:

      They closed out their interests after many years in this city.

close

¹

/ kləʊz /

verb

1. to put or be put in such a position as to cover an opening; shut

   the door closed behind him

2. tr to bar, obstruct, or fill up (an entrance, a hole, etc)

   to close a road

3. to bring the parts or edges of (a wound, etc) together or (of a wound, etc) to be brought together
4. intr; foll by on, over, etc to take hold

   his hand closed over the money

5. to bring or be brought to an end; terminate
6. to complete (an agreement, a deal, etc) successfully or (of an agreement, deal, etc) to be completed successfully
7. to cease or cause to cease to render service

   the shop closed at six

8. intr stock exchange to have a value at the end of a day's trading, as specified

   steels closed two points down

9. to complete an electrical circuit
10. tr nautical to pass near
11. archaic.
    tr to enclose or shut in
12. close one's eyes
    1. to die
    2. often foll by to to ignore

noun

1. the act of closing
2. the end or conclusion

   the close of the day

3. a place of joining or meeting
4. kləʊs law private property, usually enclosed by a fence, hedge, or wall
5. kləʊs a courtyard or quadrangle enclosed by buildings or an entry leading to such a courtyard
6. kləʊs capital when part of a street name a small quiet residential road

   Hillside Close

7. a field
8. kləʊs the precincts of a cathedral or similar building
9. kləʊs the entry from the street to a tenement building
10. music another word for cadence
11. archaic.
    an encounter in battle; grapple

close

²

/ kləʊs /

adjective

1. near in space or time; in proximity
2. having the parts near together; dense

   a close formation

3. down or near to the surface; short

   a close haircut

4. near in relationship

   a close relative

5. intimate or confidential

   a close friend

6. almost equal or even

   a close contest

7. not deviating or varying greatly from a model or standard

   a close resemblance

   a close translation

8. careful, strict, or searching

   a close study

9. (of a style of play in football, hockey, etc) characterized by short passes
10. confined or enclosed
11. shut or shut tight
12. oppressive, heavy, or airless

    a close atmosphere

13. strictly guarded

    a close prisoner

14. neat or tight in fit

    a close cap

15. secretive or reticent
16. miserly; not generous, esp with money
17. (of money or credit) hard to obtain; scarce
18. restricted as to public admission or membership
19. hidden or secluded
20. Alsoclosed restricted or prohibited as to the type of game or fish able to be taken
21. Alsoclosednarrow phonetics denoting a vowel pronounced with the lips relatively close together

adverb

1. closely; tightly
2. near or in proximity
3. close to the wind
   nautical sailing as nearly as possible towards the direction from which the wind is blowing See also wind 1

Derived Forms

• ˈcloser, noun
• ˈclosely, adverb
• ˈcloseness, noun

Other Words From

• clos·a·ble close·a·ble [kloh, -z, uh, -b, uh, l], adjective
• close·ly [klohs, -lee], adverb
• close·ness [klohs, -nis], noun
• non·close adjective
• non·close·ly adverb
• o·ver·close adjective
• o·ver·close·ly adverb
• pre·close verb (used with object) preclosed preclosing
• un·clos·a·ble adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of close¹

First recorded before 1050; (for the adjective and noun) Middle English clos(e), cloce, from Anglo-French, Old French clos, from Latin clausus “shut, closed,” past participle of claudere “to shut, close”; (for the verb) Middle English closen, from Old French clos(e) “shut, closed off,” past participle of clore “to shut, close off”; replacing Old English clȳsan, beclȳsan “to shut in, enclose,” derivative of clūse “bar, enclosure, cloister,” from Medieval Latin clūsa, from Latin clausa, noun use of feminine of clausus

Word History and Origins

Origin of close¹

C13: from Old French clos close, enclosed, from Latin clausus shut up, from claudere to close

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. close ranks, to unite forces, especially by overlooking petty differences, in order to deal with an adverse or challenging situation; to join together in a show of unity, especially to the public:

   When the newspaper story broke suggesting possible corruption in the government, the politicians all closed ranks.

2. close to the wind, Nautical. in a direction nearly opposite to that from which the wind is coming:

   to sail close to the wind.

3. close up,
   1. from close range; in a detailed manner; intimately.
   2. Nautical. fully raised; at the top of the halyard: Compare dip ¹( def 37 ).

      an answering pennant flown close up.

4. close / seal the deal. seal the deal.

More idioms and phrases containing close

• at close quarters
• at close range
• behind closed doors
• keep (a close) watch
• near (close) to one's heart
• play one's cards close to one's chest
• sail close to the wind
• too close for comfort
• too close to call

Synonym Study

Close, shut mean to cause something not to be open. Close suggests blocking an opening or vacant place: to close a breach in a wall. The word shut refers especially to blocking or barring openings intended for entering and leaving: to shut a door, gate, etc., and close can be used in this sense, too: to close a door, gate, etc. See stingy ¹. See end ¹.

Example Sentences

Ancient DNA provides a direct look at the genomes of individuals who lived closer in time to these events, allowing researchers to observe evolutionary changes before they were lost.

From Science Daily

"We improve the arrangement of the amino acids in several iterations until the new protein is very close to the desired structure," says Christopher Frank.

From Science Daily

When chimpanzees played with only one other individual, it often involved close social partners, illustrating the strong connection between play, familiarity, and trust.

From Science Daily

It also presented a dilemma for close U.S. allies in Europe, several of which declared that they would honor the warrants and the court’s jurisdiction.

From Los Angeles Times

The family hung on in their house as long as they could, but with explosions all around, shops closed and roads cut off one by one, they finally bowed to the inevitable.

From BBC

Related Words

• conclusion