close

close¹ W1S1 [kləuz US klouz] v

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1¦(shut)¦

2¦(move parts together)¦

3¦(shut for period of time)¦

4¦(stop operating)¦

5¦(end)¦

6 close an account

7¦(in money markets)¦

8 close a deal/sale/contract etc

9¦(offer finishes)¦

10¦(make distance/difference smaller)¦

11¦(make something unavailable)¦

12 be closed

13 close your doors (to somebody)

14 close your mind to/against something

15¦(hold something)¦

16¦(wound)¦

17 close ranks

18 close the book on something

Phrasal verbs

　close down

　close in

　close something<=>off

　close on somebody/something

　close something<=>out

　close up

　close with somebody/something

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[Date: 1200-1300; : Old French; Origin: clos, past participle of clore 'to close', from Latin claudere]

1.) ¦(SHUT)¦ [I and T]

to shut something in order to cover an opening, or to become shut in this way

= ↑shut

≠ ↑open

→↑closed

▪ Would you mind if I closed the window?

▪ She closed the curtains.

▪ Let me do the car door - it won't close properly.

▪ Beth closed her eyes and tried to sleep.

▪ She heard the door close behind her.

2.) ¦(MOVE PARTS TOGETHER)¦ [I and T]

to move the parts of something together so that there is no longer a space between them

▪ Anne closed her book and stood up.

3.) ¦(SHUT FOR PERIOD OF TIME)¦ [I and T]

also close up

if a shop or building closes, or you close it, it stops being open to the public for a period of time

≠ ↑open

British Equivalent: shut

→↑closed

▪ The shops close at six.

▪ Harry usually closes the store completely when he goes on vacation.

4.) ¦(STOP OPERATING)¦ [I and T]

also close down

if a company, shop etc closes, or you close it, it stops operating permanently

= ↑shut down

→↑closed

▪ We have reluctantly decided to close the factory.

▪ The shop closed down some time last year.

5.) ¦(END)¦ [I and T]

to end or to make something end, especially in a particular way

close sth with/by etc

▪ I will now close the meeting by asking you to join me in a final toast.

close with

▪ The movie closes with an emotional reunion in Prague.

closing remarks

(=something you say at the end of a speech)

▪ In her closing remarks, the judge urged the jury to consider the facts only.

6.) close an account

to stop having and using a bank account or other financial account

▪ My husband closed all my credit card accounts without even asking me.

7.) ¦(IN MONEY MARKETS)¦ [I always + adverb/preposition]

to be worth a particular amount of money at the end of a day's ↑trading (=the buying and selling of shares ) on the ↑stock exchange

close at

▪ The dollar closed at 64p against the pound.

close up/down

▪ Their shares closed 27p up

(=worth 27p more)

▪ .

8.) close a deal/sale/contract etc

to successfully agree a business deal, sale etc

9.) ¦(OFFER FINISHES)¦

to finish on a particular date

= ↑end

▪ Our special offer closes on June 3.

10.) ¦(MAKE DISTANCE/DIFFERENCE SMALLER)¦ [I and T]

to make the distance or difference between two things smaller

▪ an attempt to close the gap between the rich and poor

close on

▪ The other car was closing on us fast.

11.) ¦(MAKE SOMETHING UNAVAILABLE)¦ [T]

to make taking part in an activity or using an opportunity no longer possible

→↑closed

▪ Bidding for the painting will close on Friday.

▪ The country has now closed its borders to all foreign nationals (=will not let foreigners in) .

▪ The legislation aims to close a lot of legal loopholes.

12.) be closed

if a subject is closed, you are no longer willing to discuss it

▪ It was a regrettable incident but I now consider the matter closed.

13.) close your doors (to sb)

to stop operating permanently

▪ In 1977 the Skyfame Aircraft Museum closed its doors to the public for the last time.

14.) close your mind to/against sth

to refuse to think about something

▪ She wanted to close her mind to the outside world.

15.) ¦(HOLD SOMETHING)¦ [I always + adverb/preposition, T]

if someone's hands, arms etc close around something, or are closed around something, they hold it firmly

close (sth) around/round/over etc sth

▪ Her left hand closed over his arm.

▪ She reached for the keys and closed her hand tightly around them.

16.) ¦(WOUND)¦ [i]also close up [I and T]

if a wound closes, or if someone closes it, the edges grow together again or are sewn together

▪ The surgeon closed the incision neatly.

17.) close ranks

a) if people close ranks, they join together to protect each other, especially because their group, organization etc is being criticized

b) if soldiers close ranks, they stand closer together

18.) close the book on sth

to stop working on something, especially a police operation, because it is not making any progress

▪ Detectives had closed the book on the Hornsey Murders case three years previously.

→↑closing date, ↑closing time,close/shut the door on sth at ↑door, close your eyes to sth at ↑eye¹ (16)

close down phr v

1.) close sth<=>down

if a company, shop etc closes down or is closed down, it stops operating permanently

▪ Paramount closed down its London office in 1968.

2.) BrE to stop broadcasting radio or television programmes at the end of the day

▪ BBC 2 closes down at 12:45 tonight.

close in phr v

1.) to move closer to someone or something, especially in order to attack them

▪ The snake closed in for the kill.

close in on/around/upon etc

▪ enemy soldiers closing in on them from all sides

2.) if the night, bad weather etc closes in, it becomes darker or gets worse

▪ The sun had set and dusk was closing in.

3.) if the days close in, they become shorter because it is autumn

close off [close sth<=>off] phr v

to separate a road, room etc from the area around it so that people cannot go there or use it

▪ The roads into the docks were closed off by iron gates.

close on / [close on sb/sth] phr v

1.) to get nearer to someone or something that is moving in front or ahead of you

▪ The patrol car was rapidly closing on us.

2.) AmE to successfully arrange a ↑loan, especially in order to buy a house

close out [close sth<=>out] phr v

1.) to finish in a particular way

▪ The bond market closed out the week on a strong note.

2.) if a store closes out a type of goods, they sell all of them cheaply

▪ We're closing out this line of swimwear.

close up phr v

1.) close sth<=>up

if a shop or building closes up or is closed up, it stops being open to the public for a period of time

▪ The resorts are all closed up for the season.

2.) close up shop

to stop doing something for a period of time or permanently

▪ When it rains, there is no alternative but to close up shop.

3.) if a group of people close up, they move closer together

4.) close sth<=>up

if a wound closes up or if someone closes it up, the edges grow together again or are sewn together

▪ The scar is closing up nicely - it'll soon be time to take the stitches out.

5.) to become narrower or to shut

▪ The flowers close up at night.

▪ Occasionally the channel widened then closed up tight again.

6.) to refuse to talk to someone about something

▪ The moment I said I was a police officer, everyone would close up like a clam.

close with / [close with sb/sth] phr v

1.) to agree a business deal with someone

▪ It was such a good offer that I closed with him on the spot.

2.) literary to move towards someone in order to fight with them

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WORD CHOICE: close, shut, lock, turn/switch off

In many contexts, the verbs close and shut can be used in exactly the same way : Please close OR shut the gate. | The windows were all closed OR shut. |She closed OR shut her eyes. |The store closes OR shuts at 7.

!! Use close for a road, border, or airport : All the crossing points on the border have been closed (NOT shut).

!! Before a noun, use closed : a closed door (NOT shut door)

!! You cannot say 'close someone somewhere'. Use shut or lock to say that someone is put in a room or building and cannot get out : They shut her (NOT closed her) in her bedroom. | He was locked (NOT closed) in a cell.

Use switch off or turn off with electrical things : Will you turn off (NOT close) the TV? | I switched off (NOT closed) all the lights.

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close ²

close² W1S1 [kləus US klous] adj comparative closer superlative closest

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1¦(near)¦

2¦(near in time)¦

3¦(likely to happen)¦

4¦(like/love)¦

5¦(similar)¦

6¦(careful)¦

7¦(number/amount)¦

8¦(competition/election etc)¦

9 close relation/relative

10¦(very nearly bad)¦

11¦(almost)¦

12 keep in close contact/touch

13¦(work/talk together)¦

14¦(with little space)¦

15 close/you're close/that's close

16 close to the bone

17 close, but no cigar

18 too close for comfort

19 close to home

20 at close quarters

21¦(weather)¦

22¦(unwilling to talk about something)¦

23¦(unwilling to spend money)¦

24 a close shave

25 close work

26 close vowel

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[Date: 1200-1300; : Old French; Origin: clos, from Latin clausus, past participle of claudere; CLOSE¹]

1.) ¦(NEAR)¦

not far from someone or something

= ↑near

▪ If you need to buy bread or milk, the closest shop is about a mile away.

close to

▪ Susan sat on a chair close to the window.

▪ I don't mind where we go on vacation as long as it's close to a beach.

▪ His eyes were small and close together .

▪ There are several accounts of dolphins living in close proximity to humans (=close to humans) .

▪ The victim had been shot at close range (=from very close) .

2.) ¦(NEAR IN TIME)¦

near to something in time

close to

▪ It was close to one-fifteen a.m.

close together

▪ Our birthdays are quite close together.

3.) ¦(LIKELY TO HAPPEN)¦

seeming very likely to happen or very likely to do something soon

close to doing sth

▪ The two countries are close to signing a peace agreement.

▪ We're close to clinching the deal.

close to death/tears/despair etc

▪ The old dog could barely whimper and seemed close to death.

▪ The prosecution's main witness was close to tears as she described the events of that night.

4.) ¦(LIKE/LOVE)¦

if two people are close, they like or love each other very much

▪ My brother and I are very close.

close to

▪ I felt closer to Rob that evening than ever before.

▪ Fiona and I have always been close friends .

5.) ¦(SIMILAR)¦

very similar to each other

close to

▪ When I saw Henry with another woman I felt something close to jealousy.

▪ Fitt was the closest thing to a socialist in the party.

▪ Their newest model bears a close resemblance to (=is very similar to) that of their rival competitor.

6.) ¦(CAREFUL)¦ [usually before noun]

looking at, thinking about, or watching something very carefully

→↑closely

take/have/get a close look (at sth)

▪ She lifted up Jenny's silver medallion to take a closer look.

keep a close watch/eye on

(=watch someone or something very carefully)

▪ Don't worry, I'll keep a close eye on the kids.

▪ You could have improved your answers by closer attention to detail.

7.) ¦(NUMBER/AMOUNT)¦

if a number or amount is close to another number or amount, it is not much higher or lower than it

▪ We don't know the exact figures, but about 10,000 might be a close approximation (=close to the actual figure) .

close to

▪ Inflation is close to 7 percent.

8.) ¦(COMPETITION/ELECTION ETC)¦

finishing or being played, fought etc with both sides almost equal

▪ It was a close game that could have gone either way.

a close second/third etc

(=a finishing position in a competition that is very nearly second, third etc)

▪ The result is too close to call (=so close that it is impossible to know who will win) .

9.) close relation/relative

a member of your family such as your brother, sister, parent etc

≠ ↑distant

▪ The wedding was attended by close family only.

10.) ¦(VERY NEARLY BAD)¦

used when you have only just managed to avoid something bad, dangerous, or embarrassing happening

▪ 'Phew, that was close ,' Frank said as he swerved to avoid the cyclist.

a close call/thing/shave

(=a situation in which something dangerous, embarrassing etc almost happens)

▪ United had a close shave when Liverpool almost scored.

11.) ¦(ALMOST)¦

very nearly getting, finding, or achieving something

close to

▪ At this point, the investigators were closer to the truth than they realized.

12.) keep in close contact/touch

if two people keep in close contact, they see, talk to, or write to each other often

▪ Text messaging enables people to keep in close contact at all times.

13.) ¦(WORK/TALK TOGETHER)¦

relating to a situation in which people work well with each other or talk to each other often

▪ He retained very close links with France throughout his life.

▪ What we need now is closer cooperation between the club and supporters.

14.) ¦(WITH LITTLE SPACE)¦

with little or no space around something or between things

▪ The horses are always eager for exercise after the close confinement of the stables.

▪ The shoe is a close fit (=there is no space around the foot) .

▪ I find it difficult to read such close print (=with letters printed so close together) .

15.) close/you're close/that's close

spoken used to tell someone that they have almost guessed or answered something correctly

▪ 'I reckon he must be about thirty-eight.' 'Close - he was forty last week.'

16.) close to the bone

if something someone says is close to the bone, it makes you feel uncomfortable or offends you, especially because it is about something you do not want to admit is true

17.) close, but no cigar

spoken used when something someone does or says is almost correct or successful

▪ It was close, but no cigar for the Dodgers as they lost to the Reds 4-3.

18.) too close for comfort

if something that happens is too close for comfort, it is near enough to make you feel nervous or afraid

▪ From somewhere too close for comfort came the sound of machine-gun fire.

19.) close to home

a) if a remark or criticism is close to home, it makes you feel uncomfortable because it is likely to be true

▪ His comments struck unpleasantly close to home.

b) if something unpleasant happens close to home, you are directly affected by it

▪ It's one thing seeing riots on TV, but when they happen so close to home it's a different matter.

20.) at close quarters

if something happens or is done at close quarters, it happens inside a small space or is done from a short distance away

▪ The troops had been fighting at close quarters.

21.) ¦(WEATHER)¦

BrE uncomfortably warm because there seems to be no air

▪ The weather that night was hot and close, with a hint of thunder in the distance.

22.) ¦(UNWILLING TO TALK ABOUT SOMETHING)¦ [not before noun]

unwilling to tell people about something

= ↑secretive close about

▪ You're very close about your work, aren't you?

23.) ¦(UNWILLING TO SPEND MONEY)¦ [not before noun]

not generous

close with

▪ You won't get a penny out of Jack - he's very close with his money.

24.) a close shave

when the hair on someone's face is cut very close to the skin

25.) close work

work that involves looking at or handling things in a very skilful, detailed, and careful way

▪ After years of close work, she could hardly see a thing if it was over a yard away.

26.) close vowel

technical a close vowel is pronounced with only a small space between the tongue and the top of the mouth

>closeness n [U]

▪ She had never had the physical or emotional closeness that she needed.

→play your cards close to your chest at ↑card¹ (14)

close ³

close³ W2S3 [kləus US klous] adv

1.) not far away

= ↑near

▪ Come a little closer, so you can see better.

▪ Her father lives quite close by .

▪ They were sitting close together on the couch.

▪ A variety of good restaurants and cafés are close at hand (=very near) .

▪ James heard footsteps close behind him.

▪ Ronnie sped off into the distance, with his brother's car following close behind .

stay/keep close

▪ We must all stay close.

hold/draw sb close

(=hold someone against your body)

▪ He drew her close to him.

2.) close up/up close/close to

from only a short distance away

▪ Now that I could see him close up, I saw that he was very attractive.

3.) close on sth/close to sth

spoken used to talk about a number, amount etc that is almost exact, but not completely

▪ a voyage of close on 2000 miles

4.) come close (to doing sth)

a) to almost do something

▪ I tell you, I was so mad I came close to hitting her.

▪ She came so close to the finals she must have been bitterly disappointed to go out now.

b) to be almost as good as someone or something else

▪ It's not as good as his last movie, but it comes pretty close.

5.) a close run thing

BrE a situation in which the people competing with each other are almost equal, so neither of them is more likely to win than the other

▪ The upcoming election looks likely to be a close run thing.

6.) close on the heels of sth

very soon after something else

come/follow close on the heels of sth

▪ Yet another scandal followed close on the heels of the senator's resignation.

7.) near to the surface of something

▪ An electric razor doesn't really shave as close as a blade.

8.) run sb close

BrE to be almost as successful, skilful etc as someone else

▪ Last season United ran them close both at home and away.

→sail close to the wind at ↑sail¹ (6)

close ⁴

close⁴ [kləuz US klouz] n

1.) [singular] formal

the end of an activity or of a period of time

▪ At the close of trade, the Dow Jones index was 1.92 points down.

▪ The monsoon season was drawing to a close (=ending) .

▪ The event came to a close (=finished) with a disco.

▪ Finally the meeting was brought to a close by the new chairman (=he ended the meeting) .

2.) [C usually singular] BrE

the area and buildings surrounding a ↑cathedral

close ⁵

close⁵ [kləus US klous] n [singular]

BrE used in street names for a road that has only one way in or out

▪ Take a left turn into Brown's Close.