closer

¹

[kloh-zer]

noun

1. a person or thing that closes.

   a door with a mechanical closer.

2. a person or thing that concludes.

   The piece would be a great closer for a concert.

3. Baseball.,  a relief pitcher brought in toward the end of the game to hold the team’s lead.

4. a person who brings something, especially a business deal, to a successful conclusion.

   a car salesman known as one of the best closers.

5. Also called closure. Masonry.,  any of various specially formed or cut bricks for spacing or filling gaps between regular bricks or courses of regular brickwork.

closer

²

[kloh-ser]

adjective

1. comparative of close.

Word History and Origins

Origin of closer¹

First recorded in 1600–1620; close, -er ¹

Example Sentences

Prof. Rapaport explained, "Our approach brings us much closer to practical quantum devices. By making photon collection more efficient, we're opening the door to technologies such as secure quantum communication and ultra-sensitive sensors."

From Science Daily

In some places, that seismic strain is alleviated; in others, it worsens — making earthquake faults in that area even closer to potentially failing and resulting in another big earthquake.

From Los Angeles Times

“His own biography — born in India, sent to Burma as a young soldier, doing what he did there and being ashamed of it — drew him closer to my own experience,” Peck says.

From Los Angeles Times

Because the more time passes, the closer France gets to its next big electoral moment – the 2027 French presidential election.

From BBC

“Certain things on the surface seem so far apart, and maybe they even seem opposite . . . and when we get closer, we say, ‘Oh no, it’s not what I thought.

From Salon

Related Words

• climax 
• conclusion 
• denouement