narrow

[ nar-oh ]

/ ˈnær oʊ /

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See synonyms for: narrow / narrowed / narrower / narrowest on Thesaurus.com

adjective, nar·row·er, nar·row·est.

of little breadth or width; not broad or wide; not as wide as usual or expected: a narrow path.

limited in extent or space; affording little room: narrow quarters.

limited in range or scope: a narrow sampling of public opinion.

lacking breadth of view or sympathy, as persons, the mind, or ideas: a narrow man, knowing only his professional specialty;a narrow mind.

with little margin to spare; barely adequate or successful; close: a narrow escape.

careful, thorough, or minute, as a scrutiny, search, or inquiry.

limited in amount; small; meager: narrow resources.

characterized by limited means; straitened; impoverished: Since work was scarce, he soon found himself in narrow circumstances.

New England. stingy or parsimonious.

Phonetics.

(of a vowel) articulated with the tongue laterally constricted, as the ee of beet, the oo of boot, etc.; tense.Compare lax¹ (def. 7).
(of a phonetic transcription) utilizing a unique symbol for each phoneme and whatever supplementary diacritics are needed to indicate its subphonemic varieties.Compare broad (def. 14).

(of livestock feeds) proportionately rich in protein.

verb (used without object)

to decrease in width or breadth: This is where the road narrows.

verb (used with object)

to make narrower.

to limit or restrict (often followed by down): to narrow an area of search;to narrow down a contest to three competitors.

to make narrow-minded: Living in that village has narrowed him.

noun

a narrow part, place, or thing.

a narrow part of a valley, passage, or road.

narrows, (used with a singular or plural verb) a narrow part of a strait, river, ocean current, etc.

the Narrows, a narrow strait from upper to lower New York Bay, between Staten Island and Long Island. 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) long; 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) wide.

OTHER WORDS FOR narrow

4 biased, limited, shallow, small-minded.

See synonyms for narrow on Thesaurus.com

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Origin of narrow

First recorded before 900; Middle English narw(e), nareu(e), narow(e), Old English nearu (inflectional stem nearw- ), cognate with Old Saxon naru “narrow,” Dutch naar “dismal, unpleasant,” Old Saxon naro, naru “narrow, depressing”; possibly akin to German Narbe “scar,” literally, “narrow mark”

OTHER WORDS FROM narrow

nar·row·ly, adverbnar·row·ness, nouno·ver·nar·row, adjectiveo·ver·nar·row·ly, adverb

o·ver·nar·row·ness, nounun·nar·row, adjectiveun·nar·row·ly, adverbun·nar·rowed, adjective

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

How to use narrow in a sentence

You don’t want to have a narrow focus such as increasing productivity rates that don’t improve engagement or revenue.
Internal communication plan: How SMB marketing teams can achieve growth|Ronita Mohan|November 12, 2020|Search Engine Watch
The ridge itself is a ragged, narrow path flanked by alpine tundra, with low-standing bushes and virtually no trees.
Are We Wired to Be Outside? - Issue 92: Frontiers|Grigori Guitchounts|November 11, 2020|Nautilus
After its narrow loss to the New York Giants, we cover the defense’s inability to stop the run, the future at quarterback, the play that beat Washington and more.
Washington football notes: Run-stop struggles, and the future at quarterback|Sam Fortier|November 10, 2020|Washington Post
In a narrow 5-4 vote, the justices ruled that the individual mandate was permissible under Congress’s taxing power.
What Happens If the Supreme Court Overturns Obamacare?|Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux (Amelia.Thomson-DeVeaux@abc.com)|November 10, 2020|FiveThirtyEight

Wins by the 8-0 Pittsburgh Steelers, over the Dallas Cowboys, and the Las Vegas Raiders, over the snake-bitten Los Angeles Chargers, came down to last-second plays, while the Miami Dolphins closed out a narrow win over the host Arizona Cardinals.
Steelers stay unbeaten, Chargers drop another heartbreaker in NFL Week 9|Cindy Boren, Mark Maske, Des Bieler|November 9, 2020|Washington Post
In 2012, Obama narrowly beat Mitt Romney among Florida Cubans, according to exit polls.
Rubio’s Embargo Anger Plays to the Past|Michael Tomasky|December 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
President Obama narrowly won the Cuban-American vote in South Florida in 2012.
The Liberation of the Lame Duck: Obama Goes Full Bulworth|John Avlon|December 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The fiery first-term conservative won narrowly over Democrat Mike Michaud Tuesday night.
Republican Wave Carries Maine Governor Paul LePage to Victory|Ben Jacobs|November 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Incumbent Democrat Kay Hagan is steadily but narrowly leading GOP challenger Thom Tillis.
Who Are the Judicial Activists Now?|Michael Tomasky|October 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Ernst is actually narrowly preferred by men, and her opponent Bruce Braley holds a narrow lead among women.
What Do Women Want? Not the GOP|Lloyd Green|September 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The bear watched him narrowly with its wicked little eyes, though it did not see fit to cease its paw-licking.
The Giant of the North|R.M. Ballantyne
I watched her narrowly, and would stake my life on it she is only the more dangerous for being the less open.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 60, No. 372, October 1846|Various
But he watched Grandfather Mole narrowly, with a grin on his face, to see what the old chap would do.
The Tale of Grandfather Mole|Arthur Scott Bailey
She eyed his crafty face narrowly, as she inquired whether there was any news, and listened to his recital of Toby Crackits story.
Oliver Twist, Vol. II (of 3)|Charles Dickens
The wound was a bad one, he said, and the ball had narrowly missed the heart, but with care the man would come around all right.
The Soldier of the Valley|Nelson Lloyd

British Dictionary definitions for narrow

narrow

/ (ˈnærəʊ) /

adjective

small in breadth, esp in comparison to length

limited in range or extent

limited in outlook; lacking breadth of vision

limited in means or resources; meagrenarrow resources

barely adequate or successful (esp in the phrase a narrow escape)

painstakingly thorough; minutea narrow scrutiny

finance denoting an assessment of liquidity as including notes and coin in circulation with the public, banks' till money, and banks' balancesnarrow money Compare broad (def. 14)

dialect overcareful with money; parsimonious

phonetics

another word for tense 1 (def. 4)
relating to or denoting a transcription used to represent phonetic rather than phonemic distinctions
another word for close 1 (def. 21)

(of agricultural feeds) especially rich in protein

narrow squeak informal an escape only just managed

verb

to make or become narrow; limit; restrict

noun

a narrow place, esp a pass or strait

Derived forms of narrow

narrowly, adverbnarrowness, noun

Word Origin for narrow

Old English nearu; related to Old Saxon naru

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 narrow

narrow

In addition to the idiom beginning with narrow

narrow escape

, see

straight and narrow

narrow

OTHER WORDS FOR narrow

Origin of narrow

OTHER WORDS FROM narrow

Words related to narrow

How to use narrow in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for narrow

Derived forms of narrow

Word Origin for narrow

Other Idioms and Phrases with narrow