close : Idioms & Phrases

• a sea within the jurisdiction of some particular nation, which controls its navigation.

Webster 1913

• adverb very close
  at close range.
  
  • without my reading glasses I can hardly see things close up
  • even firing at close range he missed

WordNet

• noun act of closing down a bank because of a fiscal emergency or failure
  

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• one who, or that which, sews the uppers of boots.

Webster 1913

• noun a metal block in breech-loading firearms that is withdrawn to insert a cartridge and replaced to close the breech before firing
  breechblock.
  

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• noun the act of bringing near or bringing together especially the cut edges of tissue
  approximation.
  

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• adjective satellite close in space; within reach
  at hand.
  
  • the town is close at hand
• adjective satellite close in time; about to occur
  impendent; impending; at hand; imminent.
  
  • retribution is at hand
  • some people believe the day of judgment is close at hand
  • in imminent danger
  • his impending retirement

WordNet

• . See under Borough.

Webster 1913

• . See under Breeding.

Webster 1913

• noun something achieved (or escaped) by a narrow margin
  squeak; narrow escape; close call; squeaker.
  

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• communion in the Lord's supper, restricted to those who have received baptism by immersion.

Webster 1913

• noun a corporation owned by a few people; shares have no public market
  privately held corporation; private corporation; close corporation.
  

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• a body or corporation which fills its own vacancies.

Webster 1913

• verb cease to operate or cause to cease operating
  shut down; close; close down; fold.
  
  • The owners decided to move and to close the factory
  • My business closes every night at 8 P.M.
  • close up the shop

WordNet

• . (Bot.) See Fertilization.
• (Bot.), the fertilization of pistils by pollen derived from the stamens of the same blossom.

Webster 1913

• (Mus.), compact harmony, in which the tones composing each chord are not widely distributed over several octaves.

Webster 1913

• verb advance or converge on
  draw in.
  
  • The police were closing in on him
• verb surround completely
  inclose; shut in; enclose.
  
  • Darkness enclosed him
  • They closed in the porch with a fence

WordNet

• verb stem the flow of
  shut off.
  
  • shut off the gas when you leave for a vacation
• verb isolate or separate
  shut off.
  
  • She was shut off from the friends
• verb block off the passage through
  block off; shut off.
  
  • We shut off the valve

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• noun a military formation for drill or marching
  

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• verb make impossible, especially beforehand
  preclude; rule out.
  
• verb terminate by selling off or disposing of
  
  • He closed out his line of sports cars
• verb terminate
  
  • We closed out our account

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• noun a situation of being uncomfortably close to someone or something
  

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• adjective satellite set close together
  close set.
  
  • close-set eyes
  • close-set teeth
  • her eyes are close set

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• noun something achieved (or escaped) by a narrow margin
  squeak; narrow escape; close call; squeaker.
  

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• noun close-in firing by one unit against an enemy engaged by another unit
  

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• noun fire on enemy troops or weapons or positions that are near the supported unit and are the most immediate and serious threat to it
  

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• a fixed period during which killing game or catching certain fish is prohibited by law.

Webster 1913

• adverb (of quantities) imprecise but fairly close to correct
  about; around; some; roughly; approximately; just about; or so; more or less.
  
  • lasted approximately an hour
  • in just about a minute
  • he's about 30 years old
  • I've had about all I can stand
  • we meet about once a month
  • some forty people came
  • weighs around a hundred pounds
  • roughly $3,000
  • holds 3 gallons, more or less
  • 20 or so people were at the party

WordNet

• adverb nearly opposite to the direction from which wind is coming
  
  • sailing close to the wind

WordNet

• (Naut.), directed as nearly to the point from which the wind blows as it is possible to sail; closehauled; said of a vessel.

Webster 1913

• adjective satellite located close together
  approximate.
  
  • with heads close together
  • approximate leaves grow together but are not united

WordNet

• verb cease to operate or cause to cease operating
  shut down; close; close down; fold.
  
  • The owners decided to move and to close the factory
  • My business closes every night at 8 P.M.
  • close up the shop
• verb block passage through
  obstruct; obturate; jam; impede; occlude; block.
  
  • obstruct the path
• verb unite or bring into contact or bring together the edges of
  close.
  
  • close the circuit
  • close a wound
  • close a book
  • close up an umbrella
• verb refuse to talk or stop talking; fall silent
  shut up; belt up; button up; clam up; be quiet; dummy up; keep mum.
  
  • The children shut up when their father approached
• adverb very close
  at close range.
  
  • without my reading glasses I can hardly see things close up
  • even firing at close range he missed

WordNet

• (Pron.), a vowel which is pronounced with a diminished aperture of the lips, or with contraction of the cavity of the mouth.

Webster 1913

Close"-band`ed adjective

Definitions

1. Closely united.

Webster 1913

Close"-barred` adjective

Definitions

1. Firmly barred or closed.

Webster 1913

Close"-bod`ied adjective

Definitions

1. Fitting the body exactly; setting close, as a garment. Ayliffe.

Webster 1913

Close"-fights` noun plural

Definitions

1. (Naut.) Barriers with loopholes, formerly erected on the deck of a vessel to shelter the men in a close engagement with an enemy's boarders; -- called also close quarters. Obs.

Webster 1913

• adjective satellite fitting closely but comfortably
  close; snug.
  
  • a close fit

WordNet

• adjective satellite dense or compact in structure or texture, as a wood composed of small-diameter cells
  fine-grained.
  
  • close-grained birch
  • fine-grained rock

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• adjective satellite having the sails trimmed for sailing as close to the wind as possible
  

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• adjective satellite held together as by social or cultural ties
  closely knit.
  
  • a close-knit family
  • close-knit little villages
  • the group was closely knit

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• adjective satellite not ready to receive to new ideas
  close-minded.
  

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• noun (military) military drill of troops in standard marching (shoulder-to-shoulder)
  

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• adjective satellite packed especially tightly
  

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• noun hand-to-hand fighting at close quarters
  

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• adjective satellite set close together
  close set.
  
  • close-set eyes
  • close-set teeth
  • her eyes are close set

WordNet

Close"-stool` noun

Definitions

1. A utensil to hold a chamber vessel, for the use of the sick and infirm. It is usually in the form of a box, with a seat and tight cover.

Webster 1913

Close"-tongued` adjective

Definitions

1. Closemouthed; silent. "Close-tongued treason." Shak.

Webster 1913

• noun something that baffles understanding and cannot be explained
  mystery; secret; enigma.
  
  • how it got out is a mystery
  • it remains one of nature's secrets

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• noun (chemistry) a chain of atoms in a molecule that forms a closed loop
  ring.
  

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• noun a complete electrical circuit around which current flows or a signal circulates
  loop.
  

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• noun a corporation owned by a few people; shares have no public market
  privately held corporation; private corporation; close corporation.
  

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• noun a rhymed couplet that forms a complete syntactic unit
  

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• noun a curve (such as a circle) having no endpoints
  

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• noun an uncomplicated fracture in which the broken bones to not pierce the skin
  simple fracture.
  

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• noun similar to Gentiana andrewsii but with larger flowers
  blind gentian; Gentiana clausa.
  
• noun gentian of eastern North America having tubular blue or white flowers that open little if at all
  blind gentian; Gentiana andrewsii; bottle gentian.
  

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• adjective satellite blocked against entry
  closed.
  
  • a closed porch

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• noun an interval that includes its endpoints
  bounded interval.
  

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• noun a control system with a feedback loop that is active
  closed loop.
  

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• noun a primary in which only registered members of a particular political party can vote
  
  • closed primaries strengthen party unity

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• noun a session (usually of a legislative body) that is closed to the public
  executive session.
  

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• noun a company that hires only union members
  

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• noun (cosmology) a universe that is spatially closed and in which there is sufficient matter to halt the expansion that began with the big bang; the visible matter is only 10 percent of the matter required for closure but there may be large amounts of dark matter
  

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• noun glaucoma in which the iris blocks the outflow of aqueous humor
  angle-closure glaucoma; acute glaucoma.
  
  • closed-angle glaucoma can cause a rapid buildup of high intraocular pressure that results in permanent visual damage in a couple of days

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• adjective broadcast with captions that are seen only on receivers having special equipment; can be provided for hard-of-hearing viewers
  

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• adjective satellite having atoms linked by bonds represented in circular or triangular form
  closed-chain.
  

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• adjective relating to or consisting of a closed circuit
  
  • closed-circuit television

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• noun a television system that is not used for broadcasting but is connected by cables to designated monitors (as in a factory or theater)
  

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• noun a word that is uninflected and serves a grammatical function but has little identifiable meaning
  function word.
  

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• adjective satellite not open to the public
  
  • a closed-door meeting

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• noun a regulated investment company that issues a fixed number of shares which are listed on a stock market
  closed-end fund.
  

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• noun a regulated investment company that issues a fixed number of shares which are listed on a stock market
  closed-end fund.
  

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• noun heart surgery in which a small incision is made (the chest cavity is not opened)
  

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• noun a control system with a feedback loop that is active
  closed loop.
  

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• adjective satellite not ready to receive to new ideas
  close-minded.
  

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• adjective satellite having atoms linked by bonds represented in circular or triangular form
  closed-chain.
  

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• noun the concluding part of any performance
  close; finis; finale.
  

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• noun the act of isolating something; setting something apart from others
  isolation.
  

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• noun (stock market) the price of the last transaction completed during a day's trading session
  

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• noun the regular time of day when an establishment closes to the public
  

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• verb nearly do something
  
  • She came close to quitting her job
• verb be close or similar
  approximate.
  
  • Her results approximate my own

WordNet

Cou"ple-close` noun

Wordforms

Definitions

1. (Her.) A diminutive of the chevron, containing one fourth of its surface. Couple-closes are generally borne one on each side of a chevron, and the blazoning may then be either a chevron between two couple-closes or chevron cottised.
2. (Arch.) A pair of rafters framed together with a tie fixed at their feet, or with a collar beam. Engl.

Webster 1913

• verb move or arrange oneself in a comfortable and cozy position
  nuzzle; nest; nestle; cuddle; snuggle.
  
  • We cuddled against each other to keep warm
  • The children snuggled into their sleeping bags
• verb move towards
  go up; come near; draw near; near; come on; approach.
  
  • We were approaching our destination
  • They are drawing near
  • The enemy army came nearer and nearer
• verb pull towards oneself
  
  • He drew the crying child close

WordNet

• verb hold firmly, usually with one's hands
  hold tight; cling to; clutch.
  
  • She clutched my arm when she got scared

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• (Eng. Law.), letters or writs directed to particular persons for particular purposes, and hence closed or sealed on the outside; distinguished from letters patent. Burrill.

Webster 1913

• noun act of shutting down operation of a plant
  

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• noun a closed curve that does not intersect itself
  Jordan curve.
  

WordNet

Still"-clos"ing adjective

Definitions

1. Ever closing. Obs. "Still-clothing waters." Shak.

Webster 1913

• to come to a mutual agreement; to agree on or join in. "Would induce France and Holland to close upon some measures between them to our disadvantage." Sir W. Temple.

Webster 1913

• . (a) To accede to; to consent or agree to; as, to close with the terms proposed. (b) To make an agreement with.

Webster 1913

• (Naut.), to approach the land.

Webster 1913