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Idioms about close

Origin of close

First recorded before 1050; Middle English noun, adjective clos(e), cloce, from Anglo-French, Old French clos, from Latin clausus, past participle of claudere “to shut, close”; Middle English verb closen, from Old French clos(e), past participle of clore “to shut, close off”; replacing Old English clȳsan, beclȳsan “to shut in, enclose,” derivative of clūse “bar, enclosure, cloister,” from Medieval Latin clūsa, for Latin clausa, noun use of feminine of clausus “enclosed, shut”

synonym study for close

2. Close, shut mean to cause something not to be open. Close suggests blocking an opening or vacant place: to close a breach in a wall. The word shut refers especially to blocking or barring openings intended for entering and leaving: to shut a door, gate, etc., and close can be used in this sense, too: to close a door, gate, etc. 48. See stingy1. 59. See end1.

OTHER WORDS FROM close

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH close

close , clothes, cloze
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use close in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for close (1 of 2)

close1
/ (kləʊs) /

adjective
adverb

Derived forms of close

closely, adverbcloseness, noun

Word Origin for close

C13: from Old French clos close, enclosed, from Latin clausus shut up, from claudere to close

British Dictionary definitions for close (2 of 2)

close2
/ (kləʊz) /

verb
noun

Derived forms of close

closer, noun
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

Other Idioms and Phrases with close

close

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