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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.

They are also seeking information about these vehicles in Five Mile Drive, Carey Close, Rotherfield Road and Kirk Close in Oxford between 13:00 and 16:00 on the day of the robbery.

From BBC • Nov. 18, 2025

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

Firefighters, police officers, and paramedics were called to the blaze at the former station house in Beswick Close, in Rushton, near Kettering, Northamptonshire, at about 22:30 GMT on Friday.

From BBC • Mar. 29, 2025

The 47-year-old and of Ryton Close in Wigan, was jailed for five years and three months.

From BBC • Mar. 7, 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.