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Synonyms

close shave

American  
[klohs] / kloʊs /

noun

Informal.

  1. a narrow escape from serious danger or trouble.

    We weren't hit when the truck swerved at us, but it was a close shave.
close shave British  
/ kləʊs /

noun

  1. informal a narrow escape

"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 shave Idioms  

  1. see close call.

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

My mother also had a close shave with death.

From BBC • Sep. 16, 2023

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.