close shave
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of close shave
An Americanism dating back to 1825–35
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.
As fewer and fewer men opt for a close shave, the 25-year-old Kabul barber said he was already losing business.
From Barron's ● Feb. 19, 2026
The close shave appeared to refocus Ireland, who moved up the pitch and knocked on the door for 10 minutes before Jamison Gibson-Park's smart inside ball sent Van der Flier crashing across the line.
From BBC ● Mar. 19, 2022
In St. Louis, setting up the stage at the bottom of an amphitheater-like glen avoided that problem, but squeezing it into that spot was a worrisomely close shave.
From New York Times ● Jul. 29, 2021
“When the stubble grows back after a really close shave it can be quite sharp and prickly,” he wrote in an email.
From Slate ● May 10, 2021
Aunt Lydia said: Saint Paul said it’s either that or a close shave.
From "The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood
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.
