CLOSE


Meaning of CLOSE in English

I .

/ kləʊz; NAmE kloʊz/ verb , noun

—see also close (II)

■ verb

WINDOW / DOOR, etc.

1.

to put sth into a position so that it covers an opening; to get into this position

SYN shut :

[ vn ]

Would anyone mind if I closed the window?

She closed the gate behind her.

It's dark now—let's close the curtains.

I closed my eyes against the bright light.

[ v ]

The doors open and close automatically.

OPP open

BOOK / UMBRELLA, etc.

2.

[ vn ] close sth (up) to move the parts of sth together so that it is no longer open

SYN shut :

to close a book / an umbrella

OPP open

SHOP / STORE / BUSINESS

3.

close (sth) (to sb/sth) to make the work of a shop / store, etc. stop for a period of time; to not be open for people to use :

[ vn ] [ often passive ]:

The museum has been closed for renovation.

The road was closed to traffic for two days.

[ v ]

What time does the bank close?

We close for lunch between twelve and two.

OPP open

4.

(also ˌclose ˈdown , ˌclose sth ↔ ˈdown ) if a company, shop / store, etc. closes , or if you close it, it stops operating as a business :

[ vn ]

The club was closed by the police.

[ v ]

The hospital closed at the end of last year.

The play closed after just three nights.

OPP open

END

5.

to end or make sth end :

[ vn ]

to close a meeting / debate

to close a case / an investigation

to close an account (= to stop keeping money in a bank account)

The subject is now closed (= we will not discuss it again) .

[ v ]

The meeting will close at 10.00 p.m.

The offer closes at the end of the week.

OPP open

FINANCE

6.

[ v ] to be worth a particular amount at the end of the day's business :

Shares in the company closed at 265p.

closing prices

[also v - adj ]

DISTANCE / DIFFERENCE

7.

to make the distance or difference between two people or things smaller; to become smaller or narrower :

[ vn ]

These measures are aimed at closing the gap between rich and poor.

[ v ]

The gap between the two top teams is closing all the time.

HOLD FIRMLY

8.

close (sth) about / around / over sb/sth to hold sth/sb firmly :

[ vn ]

She closed her hand over his.

[also v ]

IDIOMS

- close the book on sth

- close its doors

- close your mind to sth

- close ranks

—more at door , ear , eye noun

PHRASAL VERBS

- close down

- close down | close sth down

- close in

- close in (on sb/sth)

- close sth off

- close out sth

- close over sb/sth

- close up

- close up | close sth up

■ noun

[ sing. ] ( formal ) the end of a period of time or an activity :

at the close of the 17th century

His life was drawing to a close .

Can we bring this meeting to a close ?

••

WHICH WORD

close / shut

You can close and shut doors, windows, your eyes, mouth, etc.

Shut can suggest more noise and is often found in phrases such as slammed shut , banged shut , snapped shut .

Shut is also usually used for containers such as boxes, suitcases, etc.

To talk about the time when shops, offices, etc. are not open, use close or shut :

What time do the banks close / shut?

A strike has shut the factory.

You can also use closed or shut ( NAmE usually closed ):

The store is closed / shut today.

Especially in NAmE , shut can sound less polite.

Closed is used in front of a noun, but shut is not:

a closed window.

We usually use closed about roads, airports, etc.:

The road is closed because of the snow.

Close is also used in formal English to talk about ending a meeting or conversation.

II .

/ kləʊs; NAmE kloʊs/ adjective , adverb , noun

—see also close (I)

■ adjective

( closer , clos·est )

NEAR

1.

[ not usually before noun ] close (to sb/sth) | close (together) near in space or time :

Our new house is close to the school.

I had no idea the beach was so close.

The two buildings are close together .

This is the closest we can get to the beach by car.

We all have to work in close proximity (= near each other) .

The President was shot at close range (= from a short distance away) .

The children are close to each other in age.

Their birthdays are very close together .

➡ note at near

ALMOST / LIKELY

2.

[ not before noun ] close (to sth) | close (to doing sth) almost in a particular state; likely to do sth soon :

He was close to tears.

The new library is close to completion.

She knew she was close to death.

We are close to signing the agreement.

RELATIONSHIP

3.

close (to sb) knowing sb very well and liking them very much :

Jo is a very close friend .

She is very close to her father.

She and her father are very close.

We're a very close family.

4.

near in family relationship :

close relatives, such as your mother and father, and brothers and sisters

OPP distant

5.

very involved in the work or activities of sb else, usually seeing and talking to them regularly :

He is one of the prime minister's closest advisers.

The college has close links with many other institutions.

She has kept in close contact with the victims' families.

We keep in close touch with the police.

CAREFUL

6.

[ only before noun ] careful and thorough :

Take a close look at this photograph.

On closer examination the painting proved to be a fake.

Pay close attention to what I am telling you.

SIMILAR

7.

close (to sth) very similar to sth else or to an amount :

There's a close resemblance (= they look very similar) .

His feeling for her was close to hatred.

The total was close to 20% of the workforce.

We tried to match the colours, but this is the closest we could get.

COMPETITION / ELECTION, etc.

8.

won by only a small amount or distance :

a close contest / match / election

It was a very close finish .

I think it's going to be close.

Our team came a close second (= nearly won).

The game was closer than the score suggests.

The result is going to be too close to call (= either side may win) .

ALMOST BAD RESULT

9.

used to describe sth, usually a dangerous or unpleasant situation, that nearly happens :

Phew! That was close—that car nearly hit us.

We caught the bus in the end but it was close (= we nearly missed it) .

WITHOUT SPACE

10.

with little or no space in between :

over 1 000 pages of close print

The soldiers advanced in close formation.

CUT SHORT

11.

cut very short, near to the skin :

a close haircut / shave

GUARDED

12.

[ only before noun ] carefully guarded :

The donor's identity is a close secret .

She was kept under close arrest .

WEATHER / ROOM

13.

warm in an uncomfortable way because there does not seem to be enough fresh air

SYN stuffy

PRIVATE

14.

[ not before noun ] close (about sth) not willing to give personal information about yourself :

He was close about his past.

MEAN

15.

[ not before noun ] ( BrE ) not liking to spend money :

She's always been very close with her money.

PHONETICS

16.

(also high ) ( of a vowel ) produced with the mouth in a relatively closed position

—compare open

►  close·ly adverb :

I sat and watched everyone very closely (= carefully) .

He walked into the room, closely followed by the rest of the family.

a closely contested election

She closely resembled her mother at the same age.

The two events are closely connected.

►  close·ness noun [ U ]

IDIOMS

- at / from close quarters

- close, but no cigar

- a close call / shave

- a close thing

- close to home

- keep a close eye / watch on sb/sth

—more at heart

■ adverb

( closer , clos·est ) near; not far away :

They sat close together .

Don't come too close !

She held Tom close and pressed her cheek to his.

I couldn't get close enough to see.

A second police car followed close behind .

IDIOMS

- close at hand

- close by (sb/sth)

- close on | close to

- a close run thing

- close to | close up

- close up to sb/sth

- come close (to sth / to doing sth)

- run sb/sth close

—more at card noun , mark noun , sail verb

■ noun

1.

( BrE ) ( especially in street names ) a street that is closed at one end :

Brookside Close

2.

the grounds and buildings that surround and belong to a cathedral

••

WORD ORIGIN

II . Middle English : from Old French clos (as noun and adjective), from Latin clausum enclosure and clausus closed, past participle of claudere .

Oxford Advanced Learner's English Dictionary.      Оксфордский английский словарь для изучающик язык на продвинутом уровне.