at close range

Idioms

Very nearby, as in At close range, the rock band was unbearably loud. Derived from shooting— range denotes the distance that missile or projectile can be made to travel—this expression soon came to mean anything in close proximity.

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.

See Examples For:

at close range

The frigate had fired "two flares towards the helicopter. One of the flares passed at close range to the helicopter," it added.

From Barron's ● Sep. 15, 2026

Bold Coast Charter’s trips allow participants to land on an island and spend a couple of hours in blinds to see and photograph at close range puffins gathered on rocks above their nesting burrows.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026

When the team replaced the black object with a white one and added carbon dioxide, mosquitoes were able to locate the source, but only at close range.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 22, 2026

"I would defy anyone not to be impressed seeing such a huge bird at close range."

From BBC ● May 28, 2025

It launches a single large .44-caliber ball instead of a bullet and is accurate only at close range.

From "Lincoln's Last Days: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever" by Bill O'Reilly

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