(~er, ~est, ~s, ~ing, ~ed)
Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English.
1.
If something is ~ a place, thing, or person, it is a short distance from them.
Don’t come ~ me...
Her children went back every year to stay in a farmhouse ~ the cottage...
He drew his chair ~er the fire...
Some of the houses ~est the bridge were on fire.
PREP
•
Near is also an adverb.
He crouched as ~ to the door as he could...
She took a step ~er to the barrier...
As we drew ~, I saw that the boot lid was up.
ADV: ADV after v, be ADV, oft ADV to n
•
Near is also an adjective.
He collapsed into the ~est chair...
Where’s the ~est telephone?...
The ~er of the two barges was perhaps a mile away.
ADJ: ADJ n, the ADJ of n
~ness
He was suddenly aware of his ~ness.
N-UNCOUNT: usu with poss
2.
If someone or something is ~ to a particular state, they have almost reached it.
After the war, The House of Hardie came ~ to bankruptcy...
The repairs to the Hafner machine were ~ to completion...
Apart from anything else, he comes ~ to contradicting himself.
= close
PREP-PHRASE: PREP n/-ing
•
Near means the same as ~ to .
He was ~ tears...
We are no ~er agreement now than in the past.
PREP
3.
If something is similar to something else, you can say that it is ~ to it.
...a sickening sensation that was ~ to nausea.
PREP-PHRASE
•
Near means the same as ~ to .
Often her feelings were ~er hatred than love.
PREP
4.
You describe the thing most similar to something as the ~est thing to it when there is no example of the thing itself.
It would appear that the legal profession is the ~est thing to a recession-proof industry...
ADJ: the ADJ n to n, the ADJ to n
5.
If a time or event draws ~, it will happen soon. (WRITTEN)
The time for my departure from Japan was drawing ~er every day.
ADV: ADV after v, be ADV
6.
If something happens ~ a particular time, it happens just before or just after that time.
Performance is lowest between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m, and reaches a peak ~ midday...
I’ll tell you ~er the day.
PREP
7.
You use ~ to say that something is a little more or less than an amount or number stated.
...to increase manufacturing from about 2.5 million cars a year to ~er 4.75 million...
PREP
8.
You can say that someone will not go ~ a person or thing when you are emphasizing that they refuse to see them or go there.
He will absolutely not go ~ a hospital...
I’m so annoyed with her that I haven’t been ~ her for a week.
PREP: with brd-neg emphasis
9.
The ~ one of two things is the one that is closer.
...a mighty beech tree on the ~ side of the little clearing...
Jane put one foot in the ~ stirrup and turned to look at the stranger.
? far
ADJ: det ADJ n
10.
You use ~ to indicate that something is almost the thing mentioned.
She was believed to have died in ~ poverty on the French Riviera.
...the 48-year-old who was brought in to rescue the bank from ~ collapse.
ADJ: ADJ n
•
Near is also an adverb.
...his ~ fatal accident two years ago...
ADV: ADV adj
11.
In a contest, your ~est rival or challenger is the person or team that is most likely to defeat you.
That victory put the Ukrainians beyond the reach of their ~est challengers, Dynamo Moscow.
ADJ: ADJ n
12.
When you ~ a place, you get quite ~ to it. (LITERARY)
As he ~ed the stable, he slowed the horse and patted it on the neck...
VERB: no passive, V n
13.
When someone or something ~s a particular stage or point, they will soon reach that stage or point.
His age was hard to guess–he must have been ~ing fifty...
The project is taking a long time but is now ~ing completion.
= approach
VERB: no passive, V n, V n
14.
You say that an important time or event ~s when it is going to occur quite soon. (LITERARY)
As half time ~ed, Hardyman almost scored twice...
= approach
VERB: V
15.
People sometimes refer to their close relatives and friends as their ~est and dearest.
...that English convention of not showing your feelings, even to your ~est and dearest.
= kith and kin
PHRASE
16.
You use ~ and far to indicate that you are referring to a very large area or distance.
People would gather from ~ and far...
PHRASE
17.
If you say that something will happen in the ~ future, you mean that it will happen quite soon.
The controversy regarding vitamin C is unlikely to be resolved in the ~ future.
PHRASE
18.
You use nowhere ~ and not anywhere ~ to emphasize that something is not the case.
They are nowhere ~ good enough...
It was nowhere ~ as painful as David had expected...
PHRASE: usu PHR adj, PHR n emphasis