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  • close-in
    close-in
    adjective
    near, as to a common center; adjacent, especially to a city.
  • close in
    close in
    verb
    (of days) to become shorter with the approach of winter
Synonyms

close-in

American  
[klohs-in] / ˈkloʊsˌɪn /

adjective

  1. near, as to a common center; adjacent, especially to a city.

    The city is enveloping its close-in suburbs.

  2. occurring or provided at close quarters.

    Fighter planes provided daring close-in air support.
close in British  
/ kləʊz /

verb

  1. (of days) to become shorter with the approach of winter

  2. to advance (on) so as to encircle or surround

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
close in Idioms  

  1. Surround, enclose, envelop, as in The fog closed in and we couldn't see two yards in front of us , or She felt the room was closing in . [c. 1400]

  2. Also, . Draw in, approach, as in The police closed in on the suspect . [Early 1800s]

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Ponnachan - of Chariot Close in Alvaston, Derby - who was wearing glasses and dressed in a plain grey T-shirt, grey jogging bottoms and light blue footwear, spoke only to confirm his personal details.

From BBC • Apr. 1, 2026

Police were called to an address on Egglescliffe Close in Stockton at 18:50 GMT on Saturday, where the man was found dead.

From BBC • Jan. 11, 2026

Despite early parts in films like “Troy” and Sofia Coppola’s “Marie Antoinette,” Byrne first broke out in America opposite Glenn Close in the TV drama “Damages,” which ran from 2007 to 2012.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 3, 2025

Cleveland Police were called to Hartington Close in Thornaby, on Teesside, at about 16:20 BST on Saturday after the concerns about the child were reported.

From BBC • Sep. 14, 2025

Close in, close in till some of the more hungry or daring perched on the carcass.

From "Their Eyes Were Watching God" by Zora Neale Hurston

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.