close

pronunciation

How to pronounce close in British English: UK [kləʊz , kləʊs] word uk audio image

How to pronounce close in American English: US [kloʊz , kloʊs] word us audio image

Noun:

the temporal end; the concluding time
the last section of a communication
the concluding part of any performance
Verb:

cease to operate or cause to cease operating
complete a business deal, negotiation, or an agreement
move so that an opening or passage is obstructed; make shut
bar access to
finish or terminate (meetings, speeches, etc.)
draw near
come to a close
become closed
come together, as if in an embrace
unite or bring into contact or bring together the edges of
bring together all the elements or parts of
engage at close quarters
be priced or listed when trading stops
cause a window or an application to disappear on a computer desktop
change one's body stance so that the forward shoulder and foot are closer to the intended point of impact
fill or stop up
finish a game in baseball by protecting a lead
Adjective:

at or within a short distance in space or time or having elements near each other
close in relevance or relationship
not far distant in time or space or degree or circumstances
rigorously attentive; strict and thorough
marked by fidelity to an original
(of a contest or contestants) evenly matched
crowded
lacking fresh air
of textiles
strictly confined or guarded
confined to specific persons
fitting closely but comfortably
used of hair or haircuts
giving or spending with reluctance
inclined to secrecy or reticence about divulging information
Adverb:

near in time or place or relationship
in an attentive manner

Word Origin

close: close: [13] Close originally entered English as a verb. It came from clos-, the past participial stem of Old French clore ‘shut’, which was a descendant of Latin claudere (related to Latin clāvis ‘key’, from which English gets clavier, clavichord, clavicle, clef, and conclave, and to Latin clāvus ‘nail’, from which French gets clou ‘nail’ – whence English clove – and English gets cloy).The adjective was quick to follow, via Old French clos, but in this case the intermediate source was the Latin past participial stem clausrather than the Old French clos-. It originally meant simply ‘shut, enclosed, confined’, and did not evolve the sense ‘near’ until the late 15th century; it arose from the notion of the gap between two things being brought together by being closed off.Related forms in English include clause, cloister, closet [14] (from Old French, ‘small private room’, a diminutive form of clos) and the various verbs ending in -clude, including conclude, include, and preclude.=> clause, clavier, clef, cloister, closet, clove, cloy, conclave, conclude, enclave, include, preclude

close (v.): c. 1200, "to shut, cover in," from Old French clos- (past participle stem of clore "to shut, to cut off from"), 12c., from Latin clausus, past participle of claudere "to shut, close; to block up, make inaccessible; put an end to; shut in, enclose, confine" (always -clusus, -cludere in compounds). The Latin word might be from the possible PIE root *klau- "hook, peg, crooked or forked branch" (used as a bar or bolt in primitive structures); cognates: Latin clavis "key," clavus "nail," claustrum "bar, bolt, barrier," claustra "dam, wall, barricade, stronghold;" Greek kleidos (genitive) "bar, bolt, key," klobos "cage;" Old Irish clo "nail," Middle Irish clithar "hedge, fence;" Old Church Slavonic ključi "hook, key," ključiti "shut;" Lithuanian kliuti "to catch, be caught on," kliaudziu "check, hinder," kliuvu "clasp, hang;" Old High German sliozan "shut," German schließen "to shut," Schlüssel "key." Also partly from Old English beclysan "close in, shut up." Intransitive sense "become shut" is from late 14c. Meaning "draw near to" is from 1520s. Intransitive meaning "draw together, come together" is from 1550s, hence the idea in military verbal phrase close ranks (mid-17c.), later with figurative extensions. Meaning "bring to an end, finish" is from c. 1400; intransitive sense "come to an end" is from 1826. Of stock prices, from 1860. Meaning "bring together the parts of" (a book, etc.) is from 1560s. Related: Closed; closing.

close (adj.): late 14c., "strictly confined," also "secret," from Old French clos "confined; concealed, secret; taciturn" (12c.), from Latin clausus "close, reserved," past participle adjective from claudere "stop up, fasten, shut" (see close (v.)); main sense shifting to "near" (late 15c.) by way of "closing the gap between two things." Related: Closely. Meaning "narrowly confined, pent up" is late 14c. Meaning "near" in a figurative sense, of persons, from 1560s. Meaning "full of attention to detail" is from 1660s. Of contests, from 1855. Close call is from 1866, in a quotation in an anecdote from 1863, possibly a term from the American Civil War; close shave in the figurative sense is 1820, American English. Close range is from 1814. Close-minded is attested from 1818. Close-fisted "penurious, miserly" is from c. 1600.

close (n.): late 14c., "act of closing, conclusion, termination," from close (v.). Also in early use "enclosure, enclosed space" (late 13c.), from Old French clos, noun use of past participle.

close (adv.): "tightly, with no opening or space between," from close (adj.).