close to

English

Adverb

close to (comparative closer to, superlative closest to)

1. (of quantifiers of nouns) Approximately

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:approximately

   It lasted close to an hour.

   It rained for close to forty days and forty nights.

2. (informal) Nearly; almost

   The project is close to finished.

Preposition

close to

1. Near.

   The chair was close to the window.

   • 1879, R[ichard] J[efferies], chapter 1, in The Amateur Poacher, London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], →OCLC:

     They burned the old gun that used to stand in the dark corner up in the garret, close to the stuffed fox that always grinned so fiercely. Perhaps the reason why he seemed in such a ghastly rage was that he did not come by his death fairly. Otherwise his pelt would not have been so perfect.

   • 1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter VII, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y., London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:

     Old Applegate, in the stern, just set and looked at me, and Lord James, amidship, waved both arms and kept hollering for help. I took a couple of everlasting big strokes and managed to grab hold of the skiff's rail, close to the stern.

Translations

near

• Arabic: بِالْقُرْب مِن (bi-l-qurb min), بِجَانِب (ar) (bi-jānib)

  Egyptian Arabic: جنب (ganb)

• French: proche de, près de
• Icelandic: nálægt (is)
• Irish: achomair
• Latin: circiter
• Old Norse: við
• Polish: blisko (pl)
• Scottish Gaelic: faisg air, goirid do
• Spanish: cerca de (es)
• Vietnamese: ở gần, gần (vi)

Anagrams

• coletos, coolest, ocelots