near

near1 [ nır ] function word ***

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. ) 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 on a ranch 15 miles from the nearest town.

near to

Rosa moved a little nearer to the fire.

a ) 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.

2. ) not a long time from then/now 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.

a ) in the near future soon:

They plan to start a family sometime in the near future.

3. ) similar

a ) 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.

b ) the nearest thing to something used when something does not exist in a particular place or situation and you are referring to the thing that is most similar to it:

It was the nearest thing to a home that he had ever had.

4. ) not much less only a little less than a particular amount or number:

The temperature that day was near 100 degrees.

The loss was near 15 percent for the year.

5. ) 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 savings are sufficient.

near to doing something: They are near to solving the puzzle.

damned/damn near

used for saying that something is almost true or almost happened:

I laughed till I damned near cried.

from near and far

from a very wide area:

People came from near and far to see the Christmas display.

near enough

almost exactly

someone's nearest and dearest

someone's family

someone's nearest rival/challenger

the opponent in a sport or competition that is most likely to defeat someone

not go near

to avoid someone or something:

She wouldn't go near downtown in case she saw him.

Dad doesn't go near red meat since his heart attack.

nowhere/not anywhere near

1. ) far from a particular point or place:

The photographers were nowhere near the crash when it happened.

2. ) not nearly:

Ithaca is nowhere near as large as Pittsburgh; it's a college town.

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 dollar/thousand etc.

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

The check came to $22.08 but they rounded it down to the nearest dollar and charged us $22.

╾ near|ness noun uncount:

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

near

near 2 [ nır ] verb *

1. ) transitive to come closer to a particular place:

I woke up as the train neared the station.

a ) 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.