close-in
Americanadjective
-
near, as to a common center; adjacent, especially to a city.
The city is enveloping its close-in suburbs.
-
occurring or provided at close quarters.
Fighter planes provided daring close-in air support.
verb
-
(of days) to become shorter with the approach of winter
-
to advance (on) so as to encircle or surround
-
Surround, enclose, envelop, as in The fog closed in and we couldn't see two yards in front of us , or She felt the room was closing in . [c. 1400]
-
Also, . Draw in, approach, as in The police closed in on the suspect . [Early 1800s]
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
This suggests that many of these close-in planets may have already been destroyed.
From Science Daily • Apr. 4, 2026
“As always we expect a conservative initial view from Carnival with close-in demand and onboard spending being swing factors on how the quarter unfolds,” he added.
From Barron's • Dec. 18, 2025
But downtown and close-in neighborhoods that thrived before the pandemic are stagnating.
From Seattle Times • Jan. 23, 2024
During a flurry with about 7:30 left in the period, Kuemper came up with several tough saves, including one on a close-in shot by Lukas Reichel.
From Washington Times • Dec. 10, 2023
Then she found Myers Park, a prosperous, close-in community of 8,700 where most of the houses are more than sixty years old and ten minutes from downtown.
From "Class Matters" by The New York Times
![]()
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.