near

I UK [nɪə(r)] / US [nɪr] adjective, adverb, preposition ***

Summary:

Near can be used in the following ways: - as a preposition: I lived near the school. ♦ I'll write and let you know nearer the time. - as an adverb: Come nearer, and I'll tell you the whole story. - as an adjective: I went into the nearest room. ♦ A climb in the mountains led to near disaster. - in the preposition phrase near to: Pull your chair nearer to the table.

1)

a) close close to someone or something

A group of students were standing near the entrance.

The tornado destroyed two houses near Tulsa.

The shops are quite near.

I slept in the bed nearest the door.

They live in a small cottage 15 miles from the nearest village.

near to:

Rosa moved a little nearer to the fire.

b) used for referring to the side of something that is the closest to where you are

I got into the near side of the bed.

••

See:

nearside

2) close to a state or situation getting close to a particular state or situation

near to:

Julian was near to panic as he suddenly realized that he was trapped.

People near to retirement need to know their pension funds are sufficient.

near to doing something:

They are near to solving the puzzle.

There were rumours that the 66-year-old leader was near death.

3) not a long time from thennow not long before a particular time or event

It was nearer three than two o'clock when he finally arrived.

I had no intention of making any decision until much nearer the time.

The incident occurred near the end of the war.

draw near:

The date of the election was drawing near.

4) similar very similar to something

What he's saying now is near the truth, but it's still not accurate.

near to:

My feelings were nearer to despair than disappointment.

5) not much less only a little less than a particular amount or number

The temperature that day was near 30 degrees.

The loss was near 15 per cent for the year.

•

damned/damn near= as near as dammit informal — used for saying that something is almost true or almost happened

I laughed till I damned near cried.

The average works out at 79.4, as near as dammit.

someone's nearest rival/challenger — the opponent in a sport or competition that is most likely to defeat someone

Their nearest rivals are 10 points behind them in the league.

a near relative/relation — British a member of your family who has a very close relationship to you, such as a parent or sister

We invited all our near relatives to the party.

nowhere/not anywhere near — far from a particular point or place; not nearly

The photographers were nowhere near the crash when it happened.

Edinburgh is nowhere near as big as Glasgow, even though it's the capital.

She doesn't look anywhere near as old as Rebecca.

so near (and) yet so far — used for saying that you almost did something that you wanted to, but in the end you failed

to the nearest pound/thousand etc — if you calculate an amount to the nearest pound/thousand etc, you give the number closest to it which can be divided evenly by a pound/1,000 etc

The bill came to £13.08 but they rounded it down to the nearest pound and charged us £13.

- from near and far

- in the near future

- near enough

- someone's nearest and dearest

- a near thing

- not go near

- the nearest thing to something

Derived word:
nearness
noun uncountable

There was a lot of mist around because of the garden's nearness to the river.

II UK [nɪə(r)] / US [nɪr] verb
Word forms "near":
present tense I/you/we/they near he/she/it nears present participle nearing past tense neared past participle neared
*

1)

a) [transitive] to come closer to a particular place

I woke up as the train neared the station.

b) to come closer to a particular time or stage

Traffic problems become more common as the project nears completion.

He was nearing 60.

Months of negotiations between the two parties neared an end on Wednesday.

2) [intransitive] if a time or event nears, it gets closer

As election day neared, reports of new scandals began to appear in the press.