near - close

If something is near, near to, or close to a place or thing, it is a short distance from it. When close has this meaning, it is pronounced .

I live now in Reinfeld, which is near Lübeck.

I stood very near to them.

They owned a sheep station close to the sea.

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◊ 'nearby'

When near and close have this meaning, you do not use them immediately in front of a noun. Instead you use nearby.

He was taken to a nearby building to recuperate.

He took the bag and tossed it into some nearby bushes.

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However, the superlative form nearest can be used immediately in front of a noun.

They rush, stumbling, for the nearest exit.

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◊ other meanings

You can use near immediately in front of a noun to say that something is almost a particular thing.

...a state of near chaos.

The right and left arms of the sea wall formed a near circle.

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You can also use near immediately in front of an adjective and a noun to say that something almost has the quality described by the adjective.

...a near fatal accident.

The Government faces a near impossible dilemma.

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You can use near, near to, or close to immediately in front of a noun to say that someone or something is almost in a particular state.

Her father was angry, her mother near tears.

...her anxiety on finding him again near to death.

She was close to tears.

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You can refer to someone you know well as a `close friend'.

His father was a close friend of Peter Thorneycroft.

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You do not refer to someone as a `near' friend.

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You can refer to someone who is directly related to you as a `close relative'.

She had no very close relatives.

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You can also refer to someone as a `near relative', but this is less common.

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◊ WARNING

Do not confuse the adjective close with the verb close . If you close something, you move it so that it fills a hole or gap. See entry at ↑ close - closed - shut.

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