INDEX:
1. not far away
2. near where you live
3. easy to get to
4. the nearest house/shop/station etc
5. the fact of being near
6. near enough to pick up/touch/hit
7. near enough to see or hear clearly
8. to get nearer to someone or something
9. to be getting nearer to a person or vehicle in front of you
10. to stay very near to someone or something
11. to not go near to a person or place
RELATED WORDS
opposite
↑ FAR
see also
↑ CONVENIENT
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1. not far away
▷ near /nɪəʳ/ [preposition/adverb/adjective]
only a short distance from a person, place, or thing :
▪ We camped in a forest near a large lake.
▪ Don’t go near the fire.
▪ Have you ever been to Versailles? It’s near Paris.
▪ The place where we were going was much nearer than I thought.
near enough to do something
▪ Bob was standing near enough to hear what they were saying.
nearer to something/nearest to something
▪ If we moved to Dallas we’d be nearer to my parents.
▪ Only the people who were nearest to the speaker could actually hear what he said.
near here
▪ The accident happened somewhere near here.
▷ close /kləʊs/ [adverb/adjective]
very near to something or someone, or almost touching them :
▪ As we approached Abbeville, the gunfire sounded very close.
close to
▪ Don’t drive so close to the edge of the road.
close behind/beside
▪ Suddenly we heard footsteps close behind us.
close together
▪ The houses were built very close together, and the gardens were rather small.
▪ Nancy came over and sat close beside me on the bed.
close by
near where you are
▪ Is there a gas station close by?
▷ a short distance /ə ˌʃɔːʳt ˈdɪstəns/ [noun phrase]
used to say that something is quite near something or someone :
a short distance away
▪ I’d parked my car a short distance away, just around the corner.
a short distance from
▪ Harvard University is only a short distance from the center of Boston.
a short distance to the south/north etc
▪ The source of the river is a short distance to the south of here.
▷ not far /nɒt ˈfɑːʳ/ [adverb]
not a very long distance away - use this about somewhere that is near enough to be easy to get to :
▪ ‘How far’s the station?’ ‘Oh, not far - about ten minutes by car.’
not far from
▪ Asti is not far from the French border.
not far away
▪ Our hotel was in the centre of town but the beach wasn’t far away.
▷ nearby /ˌnɪəʳˈbaɪ◂/ [adverb]
near the place where you are or the place you are talking about :
▪ Dave, who was sitting nearby, laughed when he heard this.
▪ The house is really nice, and a lot of my friends live nearby.
▪ It was very convenient having the garage nearby.
nearby [adjective only before noun]
▪ Lucy was staying with her aunt in the nearby town of Hamilton.
▷ neighbouring British /neighboring American /ˈneɪb ə rɪŋ/ [adjective only before noun]
a neighbouring country, town, area etc is near the place where you are or the place you are talking about :
▪ The fair attracted thousands of people from neighbouring areas.
▪ Soldiers and firemen from 13 neighboring towns wrestled with the blaze for hours.
▷ in the vicinity /ɪn ðə vɪˈsɪnə̇ti/ [adverb] formal
in the area around and near a particular place :
▪ A white van was seen in the vicinity at about the time when the murder took place.
in the vicinity of
▪ In the past ten years there have been more cases of cancer in the vicinity of nuclear installations.
2. near where you live
▷ local /ˈləʊk ə l/ [adjective only before noun]
a local store, hospital etc is in the area where you live and that you are most likely to use :
▪ Volunteers like Joyce go round local schools helping children with their reading problems.
somebody’s local school/cinema etc
▪ You can find all these books in your local library.
▪ Polzeath is our local beach, but there are better surfing beaches further away.
locally [adverb]
in the area near where you live or work :
▪ We prefer to do all our shopping locally.
▪ Do you work locally?
▷ on your doorstep /ɒn jɔːʳ ˈdɔːʳstep/ [adverb] informal
very near the place where you live :
▪ We’re very lucky to have the park right on our doorstep.
▪ Homelessness is a problem that too many people ignore. Yet it’s happening on our own doorstep.
▷ in your own backyard /ɪn jɔːr ˌəʊn bækˈjɑːʳd/ [adverb] informal
near the place where you live - use this especially when talking about something that you do not want there :
▪ Most people want the new airport so long as it isn’t in their own backyard.
3. easy to get to
▷ within walking/driving etc distance /wɪðɪn ˈwɔːkɪŋ ˌdɪstəns/ [adverb]
if a place is within walking distance, it is not far away, and you can walk there easily :
▪ There are several good restaurants within walking distance.
within walking/driving etc distance of
▪ Dr Goldthorpe lived within walking distance of the University.
within easy walking etc distance (of something)
▪ Fortunately the house that we were renting was within easy driving distance of the shops.
▷ within reach /wɪðɪn ˈriːtʃ/ [adverb]
near enough to a town or place for you to get there without too much difficulty :
within reach of
▪ It was just lucky that we were within reach of a hospital.
within easy reach
near enough to get to easily
▪ Around Salzburg there are literally dozens of exciting places to visit -- all within easy reach.
▷ convenient/handy for something British also convenient to something American /kənˈviːniənt, ˈhændi fəʳ something, kənˈviːniənt tə something/ [adjective]
if your home, office etc is convenient for or handy for a particular place, that place is near it and easy to reach :
▪ The place where we live now is very convenient for the school - it’s only a couple of minutes on foot.
▪ My husband works in London so we’re looking for a house that’s handy for the station.
▪ We found an apartment convenient to campus and public transportation.
conveniently [adverb]
▪ The campsite was conveniently situated, close to the beach.
▷ around the corner also round the corner British /əˌraʊnd ðə ˈkɔːʳnəʳ, ˌraʊnd ðə ˈkɔːʳnəʳ/ [adverb]
not far away, especially in the streets of a town :
▪ ‘Is there a bank near here?’ ‘Sure, it’s just around the corner.’
▪ She won’t be long, she’s only gone round the corner.
around the corner from
▪ We met in a bar just around the corner from my apartment.
▷ be close at hand /biː ˌkləʊs ət ˈhænd/ [verb phrase]
if a building or person is close at hand, they are very near and therefore available in case you need them :
▪ The Exhibition Centre is a great day out, with plenty of parking and all the attractions of Manchester close at hand.
▪ I’m very glad that, when my children were small, my mother was always close at hand.
▷ it’s no distance /ɪts ˈnəʊ ˌdɪstəns/
if you say it’s no distance, you mean that a place is not far away and is therefore easy to get to :
▪ We come up here regularly from London; it’s no distance.
it’s no distance from
▪ It’s no distance from here to Fifth Avenue. We can easily walk it.
▷ be a stone’s throw from /bɪː ə ˈstəʊnz θrəʊ frɒm/ [verb phrase]
if one place is a stone’s throw from another place, it is only a very short distance from it, so that it is easy to get to :
▪ I was born in Wembley, a stone’s throw from the football stadium!
only a stone’s throw from something
▪ Stanford Hospital is only a stone’s throw from where I live.
within a stone’s throw of something
▪ The river’s within a stone’s throw of our apartment - we can see it from the window.
4. the nearest house/shop/station etc
▷ nearest /ˈnɪ ə rɪst, ˈnɪ ə rəst/ [adjective]
the nearest shop, station etc that is closest to where you are :
▪ Excuse me, where’s the nearest subway station?
▷ the next /ðə ˈnekst/ [determiner]
the next house, street etc that is closest to the one you are in or the one you are talking about :
▪ The people in the next apartment were making a lot of noise.
▪ I had to move the car. It’s just around the corner in the next street.
5. the fact of being near
▷ nearness/closeness /ˈnɪəʳnɪs, ˈnɪəʳnəs, ˈkləʊsnə̇s/ [uncountable noun]
nearness/closeness to
▪ The price of villas varies considerably, according to their facilities and their nearness to the sea.
▪ Some of the people took advantage of their village’s closeness to the border and made profits from smuggling.
▷ proximity /prɒkˈsɪmɪti, prɒkˈsɪmətiǁprɑːk-/ [uncountable noun] formal
nearness :
proximity to
▪ San Francisco has a significant immigrant population because of its proximity to Asia.
proximity of
▪ The proximity of schools, stores, hospitals, and so on is an important factor when purchasing a house.
6. near enough to pick up/touch/hit
▷ handy /ˈhændi/ [adjective not before noun]
if something is handy, it is near enough for you to pick up and use quickly and easily :
keep/have something handy
▪ Make sure you keep your passport and ticket handy.
▪ A lot of people in the States have a gun handy at night and when they travel.
▷ within reach /wɪðɪn ˈriːtʃ/ [adverb]
if something is within reach, it is near enough for you to take hold of or touch when you stretch out your hand :
▪ As soon as she was within reach he grabbed her wrist.
within easy reach
▪ Roy pulled the ashtray towards him so that it was within easy reach.
within somebody’s reach
▪ At this exploratory stage, small children will want to touch anything you leave within their reach.
▷ within range /wɪðɪn ˈreɪndʒ/ [adverb]
if something is within range, it is near enough for you to attack it or for a weapon to reach it :
▪ Once its prey is within range, the snake’s head shoots forward to attack.
within range of
▪ The village is well within range of the rockets which are being fired.
come within range of something
▪ A day later, the ‘Tiger’ convoy came within range of air attack.
▷ point-blank /ˌpɔɪnt ˈblæŋk◂/ [adverb]
a gun fired point-blank is fired very close to the person or thing it is aimed at :
▪ The men broke into the building at the dead of night, and shot their victims point-blank as they slept.
point-blank [adjective]
at point-blank range
▪ Police say that she died as a result of a single bullet fired at point-blank range.
7. near enough to see or hear clearly
▷ close up /ˌkləʊs ˈʌp/ [adverb]
very near, especially so that you can see something clearly :
▪ If you look at the painting close up you can see that it’s a fake.
close up to
▪ Dragging a chair close up to the television screen, she sat down to watch the film.
▷ at close quarters /ət ˌkləʊs ˈkwɔːʳtəʳz/ [adverb]
if you see or experience something at close quarters, often something dangerous or frightening, you are closer to it than usual, especially so that you can see it clearly :
▪ From our hiding place we were able to observe the animals at close quarters.
▪ This was the first time I had seen such poverty at close quarters.
▷ up close /ʌp ˈkləʊs/ [adverb]
very near someone or something, especially after you have only seen them from a distance :
come/get/go/move etc up close
▪ Brigit looked great from a distance, but when she came up close you could see that she wore a lot of make-up.
▪ ‘All you have to do is to get up close,’ Woolley said, ‘ and shoot straight.’
▷ close-up /ˈkləʊs ʌp/ [countable noun]
a photograph taken from very near :
▪ She brought the camera forward to get a close-up of the actor’s face.
in close-up
from very near
▪ Each butterfly had been photographed in close-up so that you could see every detail.
8. to get nearer to someone or something
▷ get near/close /ˌget ˈnɪəʳ, ˈkləʊs/ [verb phrase]
to go or come nearer to a person, place, or thing :
▪ As Kay got near the house she began to feel nervous.
get near/close to
▪ We had been traveling for two hours and I knew that we must be getting close to Vancouver.
get near/close enough to do something
▪ I couldn’t get close enough to see what was happening.
get nearer/closer (to something)
▪ People were running for shelter. The hurricane was getting closer and closer.
▪ Every day the Russian tanks were getting nearer to Berlin.
▷ approach /əˈprəʊtʃ/ [intransitive/transitive verb not in passive]
to move gradually closer to a person, place, or thing. Approach is more formal than get near and get close. :
▪ The train slowed down as it started to approach the station.
▪ We could hear footsteps approaching down the corridor.
approaching [adjective]
▪ The speed of the approaching car was close to 80 mph.
▷ close in on /ˌkləʊz ˈɪn ɒn/ []
if a group of people close in on someone or something, they gradually move closer to them from all sides so that they surround them in a threatening way :
▪ Well-organized bands of rebels began to close in on the capital.
▪ The divers were surrounded by three sharks which were rapidly closing in on them.
▪ TV crews closed in on Geldof as soon as he stepped out of his car.
▷ near /nɪəʳ/ [transitive verb not in passive]
to gradually get nearer to a place - used especially in stories or descriptions of events :
▪ As she neared her home she could see a light in the window.
▷ draw near /ˌdrɔː ˈnɪəʳ/ [verb phrase] written
to move closer to something or someone :
▪ The two men were talking, but as we drew near they turned and stared at us.
▪ Madge drew a little nearer so that she could hear what he was saying.
draw near to
▪ The rebels hoped that many of the government troops would join them when they drew near to the city.
9. to be getting nearer to a person or vehicle in front of you
▷ be catching up /biː ˌkætʃɪŋ ˈʌp/ [verb phrase]
▪ On the last lap of the race, Gemma started to catch up, and it looked as though she could still win.
be catching up with
▪ Looking back I could see that the rest of the group were catching up with us.
▷ be gaining on/be closing on /biː ˈgeɪnɪŋ ɒn, biː ˈkləʊzɪŋ ɒn/ [verb phrase]
to be steadily getting nearer to a person or vehicle in front of you that you are chasing or racing against, by going faster than them :
▪ Donna looked in her rear-view mirror and saw with alarm that the Audi was still gaining on her.
▪ Now ‘Australia II’ is closing on the American yacht and it could still win this race.
10. to stay very near to someone or something
▷ stay close/keep close /ˌsteɪ ˈkləʊs, ˌkiːp ˈkləʊs/ [verb phrase]
stay close/keep close to
▪ While the eggs are hatching the mother bird stays close to the nest.
stay close/keep close together
▪ Once we’re inside the cave, we must all keep close together. We don’t want anyone to get lost.
▷ cling to /ˈklɪŋ tuː/ [transitive verb not in passive]
if someone, especially a child, clings to you, they stay close to you all the time, especially because they lack confidence and depend on you too much :
▪ It’s quite common for a child to cling to his or her mother on the first day at school.
▪ One of the girls was clinging to me all night at the disco. I just couldn’t get rid of her.
▷ hug /hʌg/ [transitive verb not in passive]
to stay very close to the edge or surface of something, especially while moving along it :
▪ The new road will stretch from Barcelona to the Adriatic, hugging the Mediterranean coast.
▪ A row of tiny feeding fish were hugging the rock surface where I stood.
▪ After Dunseverik, the path hugs the clifftop near Brebane Head.
11. to not go near to a person or place
▷ not go near/not come near /nɒt gəʊ ˈnɪəʳ, nɒt kʌm ˈnɪəʳ/ [verb phrase]
▪ You’d better not come near me. I’ve got a bad cold.
▪ People didn’t go anywhere near the place at night. They were frightened of ghosts.
▪ Don’t go too near the fire!
▷ stay away from/keep away from /ˌsteɪ əˈweɪ frɒm, ˌkiːp əˈweɪ frɒm/ [transitive verb]
to never go near something or someone or to not go near them during a period of time, especially in order to avoid danger or trouble :
▪ Stay away from the edge of the cliff.
stay/keep well away from something/somebody
▪ If I were you I’d keep well away from him. He doesn’t have a good reputation.
▷ keep your distance /ˌkiːp jɔːʳ ˈdɪstəns/ [verb phrase]
to not go too close to someone or something, especially because it might be dangerous or harmful to go near :
▪ Police warned the public to keep their distance if they saw a man fitting this description.
keep your distance from
▪ Stick to the paths, and make sure you keep your distance from nesting birds.
▷ keep back/stay back /ˌkiːp ˈbæk, ˌsteɪ ˈbæk/ [intransitive phrasal verb]
if you tell someone to keep back or stay back, you mean that they should not come nearer, especially because of possible danger :
▪ Keep back, everyone! The tree may come down at any moment.
keep/stay well back
▪ She lit the bonfire and told the children to stay well back.