NEAR


Meaning of NEAR in English

■ adverb

1》 at or to a short distance away.

2》 a short time away in the future.

3》 almost.

■ preposition (also ~ to )

1》 at or to a short distance away from (a place).

2》 a short period of time from.

3》 almost.

4》 similar to.

■ adjective

1》 located a short distance away.

2》 only a short time ahead.

3》 similar.

↘close to being (the thing mentioned).

↘having a close family connection.

4》 located on the ~side of a vehicle. Compare with off (in sense 3).

5》 archaic mean; miserly.

■ verb approach.

Derivatives

~ish adjective

~ness noun

Origin

ME: from ON nær '~er', compar. of ná , corresp. to OE nēah 'nigh'.

Concise Oxford English vocab.      Сжатый оксфордский словарь английского языка.