See Also: CLOSE ROLLS, or close writs, Eng(law)
Buy on close(finance)
close-run(dictionary)
close(4)(dictionary)
close(3)(dictionary)
Buy on close(money)
close(2)(dictionary)
close(1)(dictionary)
Close(money)
close-set(dictionary)

close(1) (iou)



close adjective & adverb. LME.
[Old & mod. French clos from Latin clausus pa. pple of claudere CLOSE verb.]
A. adjective.
I. Of a closed condition or its results.
Closed, shut; having no part left open. LME.
A. Trollope I've brought a close carriage for him.
b. Heraldry. Of wings: folded to the body. E17.
c. Phonetics. Of a vowel: articulated with the tongue in a relatively high position. E17.
Shut up in prison etc., under strict restraint. Of confinement: strict. LME.
Wellington Captainis in close arrest.
Concealed from observation; hidden, secret, secluded; arch. private, snug. LME.
S. Johnson A close room, an easy chair. I. Murdoch She kept this interlude a close secret and never spoke of it to anyone.
Secretive, reticent, reserved. LME.
Dickens He was too close to name his circumstances to me.
Rigorous, severe. LME-L18.
J. Wesley She had close trials from her poor, apostate husband.
Enclosed, esp. with walls or barriers; shut in or away from; confined, contracted; narrow. L15.
W. Owen Down the close, darkening lanes they sang their way.
Of air, atmosphere, etc.: stuffy, airless, stifling. L16.
A. Paton It was close and sultry, and soon there would be thunder. S. Bellow The house was close and faintly sour with furniture polish.
Stingy, niggardly; grudging any expense. M17.
A. S. Byatt He would break a close northern habit of meanness to provide champagne.
Restricted or limited to a privileged few. E19.
Bosworth Smith These..filled up the vacancies..from among themselves, like the members of a close college.
Under prohibition; during which something is prohibited. E19.
II. Of proximity of space or time.
Dense or compact in texture or arrangement; with no or only slight intervals. Cf. earlier B.4 below. L15.
Dryden In close plantations. T. Hardy Their vans..were drawn up..in close file.
b. Detailed, concentrated, searching, thorough; leaving no gaps or weaknesses. M17.
Coleridge A close reasoner. E. A. Bond Under a close cross-questioning. F. R. Leavis Close analytical study of a few poems.
Of an item of clothing etc.: fitting exactly or tightly. L15.
Very near in relation or connection; intimate, confidential. Cf. earlier B.5 below. L16.
W. Paley In close conformity with the Scripture account. P. Scott No close friend by whom to be comforted. C. Connolly With the sea..his relations were always close and harmonious. P. V. White We were a very close family.
b. Of a translation etc.: following or resembling the original to a large extent. E18.
Very near in position; in or nearly in contact; narrowly escaped. Cf. earlier B.5 below. E17.
J. Heller The tables in the delicatessen were small and close.
Of a contest, its outcome, etc.: nearly equal, narrowly decided. M19.
b. adverb. (Some pred. uses of the adjective pass into this.)
In or into a closed position. LME.
In concealment, hiding, or strict confinement. LME.
A. S. Byatt We must keep our secrets close.
Secretly, covertly. LME-M17.
Tightly; fast; densely, compactly; so as to leave no interstices or openings; searchingly, thoroughly. LME.
C. Thirlwall The closer they are examined, the more suspicious do they appear.
Very near in position, relation, or connection; in or into immediate proximity or intimacy. LME.
Joseph Hall Let us pile up all close together. J. C. Powys The courage..to move up close to him. I. McEwan They kissed and sat close.
gen. In a close manner; closely. M17.
Special collocations, comb., & phrases: as close as it can stick, as close as one can stick: see STICK verb1. at close range: see RANGE noun1. close as wax: see WAX noun1. close borough: see BOROUGH noun 3. close by very near (to). close call colloq. = close shave below. close-carpet verb trans. cover the whole floor of (a room) with carpet. close communion: see COMMUNION 5. close-cropped adjective (of hair) cut very short. close encounter: spec. a supposed encounter with a UFO or extraterrestrials; close encounter of the first, second, etc., kind: involving increasing degrees of complexity and apparent exposure of the witness to aliens. close-fights pl. = close quarters (a) below. close-fisted adjective that keeps the hand tightly shut; chiefly fig., niggardly, grudging. close-fitting adjective (of a garment) fitting closely to the body. close-grained adjective without gaps between fibres etc. close-handed adjective (arch.) = close-fisted above. close harmony the singing of parts within an octave or twelfth. close-hauled adjective (of a ship) with sails hauled aft to sail close to the wind. close-knit adjective intimately united by common interests, marriage, etc. close-lipped adjective with tightly set lips; fig. reticent, discreet. close mourning arch. deep mourning. close-mouthed adjective = close-lipped above. close on very near to, nearly. close port: see PORT noun1. close quarters pl. (a) Hist. barriers across a ship's decks providing a place of retreat for the crew and with holes for firing at a hostile boarding party; (b) direct contact, esp. with an enemy; uncomfortable nearness; (at close quarters, very near, from a very short distance). close-reef verb trans. (Nautical) reef closely, take in all the reefs of (a sail or ship). close season a period when something is forbidden by law, as the killing of game, or does not take place, as the playing of cricket or another organized sport. close shave a narrow escape, a near thing. close-stool a chamber-pot enclosed in a stool with a cover. close thing = close shave above. close to home: see HOME noun & adjective. close to the bone: see BONE noun. close to the wind Nautical against the wind as nearly as is compatible with its filling the sails. close upon = close on above. hold one's cards close to one's chest: see CHEST noun. MAISON close. pound close: see POUND noun2 1a.
closen verb trans. & intrans. make or become close(r), close up M19.
closish adjective fairly close M19.