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View synonyms for close shave

close shave

[ klohs ]

noun

, Informal.
  1. a narrow escape from serious danger or trouble:

    We weren't hit when the truck swerved at us, but it was a close shave.



close shave

/ kləʊs /

noun

  1. informal.
    a narrow escape
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


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Word History and Origins

Origin of close shave1

An Americanism dating back to 1825–35
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Idioms and Phrases

see close call .
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Example Sentences

It was a close shave, for only by sending them down by passenger train on that morning were they able to reach Southampton.

“That was a pretty close shave you had this afternoon, Miss Peggy,” Howard began.

The light grew faint, and in the glimmer there was a close shave at the edge of a hazardous bridge over a deep, deep ravine.

It is admitted on all hands, however, that it was a remarkably close shave.

Oh, I know; but it's one that did not end in a fine, though it was a very close shave.

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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