near
adverb
close; to a point or place not far away.
near
American
[neer]
/ nɪər /
adverb
nearer,
nearest
-
close; to a point or place not far away.
Come near so I won't have to shout.
- Antonyms:
- far
-
at, within, or to a short distance.
- Antonyms:
- far
-
close in time.
The New Year draws near.
-
close in relation; closely with respect to connection, similarity, intimacy, etc. (often used in combination).
a near-standing position.
-
all but; almost; nearly.
a period of near 30 years.
-
Nautical. close to the wind.
-
Archaic. in a thrifty or stingy manner.
adjective
-
nearer,
comparative
-
nearest
superlative
-
being close by; not distant.
the near fields.
- Antonyms:
- far
-
being the lesser in distance.
the near side.
- Antonyms:
- far
-
short or direct.
the near road.
- Antonyms:
- far
-
close in time.
the near future.
- Antonyms:
- far
-
closely related or connected.
our nearest relatives.
-
close to an original.
a near translation.
-
closely affecting one's interests or feelings.
a matter of near consequence to one.
-
intimate or familiar.
a near friend.
-
narrow or close.
a near escape.
-
thrifty or stingy.
near with one's pocketbook.
- Antonyms:
- generous
-
(of two draft animals hitched together) being on the driver's left (as opposed tooff ).
The near horse is going lame.
- Antonyms:
- far
preposition
-
at, to, or within a short distance, or no great distance, from or of.
regions near the equator.
-
close to in time.
near the beginning of the year.
-
close to a condition or state.
He is near death.
verb (used with or without object)
-
nears,
present (3rd person singular)
-
neared,
past participle, past
-
nearing
present participle
idioms
near
1
British
/ nɪə /
preposition
adverb
-
at or to a place or time not far away; close by
-
not far from; near
-
short for nearly
I was damn near killed
adjective
-
at or in a place not far away
-
(postpositive) not far away in time; imminent
departure time was near
-
(prenominal) only just successful or only just failing
a near escape
-
informal (postpositive) miserly, mean
-
(prenominal) closely connected or intimate
a near relation
verb
noun
near-
2
British
combining form
near
More Idioms
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
nearsimple
-
nearssimple
-
have nearedperfect
-
has nearedperfect
-
am nearingprogressive
-
are nearingprogressive
-
is nearingprogressive
-
have been nearingperfect progressive
-
has been nearingperfect progressive
Past
-
nearedsimple
-
had nearedperfect
-
was nearingprogressive
-
were nearingprogressive
-
had been nearingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of near
First recorded before 900; Middle English nere, Old English nēar, comparative of nēah nigh
Explanation
Things that are near are close by or recent. From far away, a hawk might look like a speck in the sky, but when it comes near, you can see how enormous and beautiful it is. When you stand near the food at a party, you're very close to it. When the time for your dentist appointment draws near, it's happening soon. If you find yourself near tears watching a sad movie, you're just about to cry. And, if your backpack is a near match to your friend's, you probably accidentally grab each other's bags all the time, since they resemble each other so closely.
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.
See Examples For:
A lack of trust in Russian public health institutions has triggered fear of a potential plague outbreak among residents in the Siberian region of Irkutsk, near the border with Mongolia.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
He wrote that “somebody in that Delta cockpit lost spatial awareness near an object roughly the size of a condominium building with wings.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
While it will feel significantly colder compared to recent weeks, especially in the south, temperatures will actually be near normal for the time of year or perhaps just a little below.
From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026
An auto plant must be near workers, a port near water, a hospital near patients.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
On one occasion, the Japanese soldiers near her house invite her to an officers’ party in the Engineering Building of the local university.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
Those could potentially include near- and far-sightedness and astigmatism, a common condition caused by an irregularly shaped cornea or lens.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 29, 2026
In his note, Whelan said he expects Perseus could sell its Predictive stake in the near- to medium-term, possibly to use the funds for an acquisition.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 20, 2026
We’re in this sort of near- trend backdrop that looks neither too hot nor too cold.
From Barron's ● Nov. 17, 2025
The trade market, given the current state of their roster, could better suit both their near- and long-term goals.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 13, 2025
To Lewis Powell, the former Confederate spy who watched Lincoln’s speech with Booth, will go the task of killing Secretary Seward, who, at age sixty-three, is currently bedridden after a near- fatal carriage accident.
From "Lincoln's Last Days: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever" by Bill O'Reilly
And when outside, they tend to be closer to the ground and nearer sources of exhaust fumes, for example.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
But as the season draws nearer and a new era of Bruin football begins, all the enthusiasm does beg the question: What does a successful debut actually look like for Chesney at UCLA?
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2026
We may also eventually receive light from some galaxies located even farther away, provided that the light began traveling toward us when the galaxies were nearer.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 25, 2026
Housing reforms that increase supply, such as allowing smaller lots in new subdivisions, permitting duplexes, townhomes, and backyard cottages on existing lots, and changing zoning laws to allow housing nearer to jobs, are land-use issues.
From Barron's ● Jun. 24, 2026
Celia circles to the opposite side of the pond, nearer to where he stands.
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
"But up in the Tallahassee Hills, where the nearest massive Mississippian mound center is located, it's common in all vessels. It's the plain-Jane tempering technique there."
From Science Daily ● Oct. 6, 2026
“We checked out the nearest airfields, the weather for all the airfields, we saw what is operationally feasible, we had six-seven minutes,” he said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
"We're about five miles out from the nearest transport hub and it's just hard to organise lifts even to get to work or college."
From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026
The nearest town is Gualala, about six miles north.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2026
I bound off the ledge, race toward the nearest voices.
From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz
CEOs — even as 84% of shareholders rejected it and a Paramount sale nears an $887-million exit.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 2026
Scientists hope to prevent the extinction of some rare species by trying to understand their changing needs, as the UK nears the end of its hottest-ever summer.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
"However, as the vessel nears completion, we face an inevitable gap in workload while we work with the Scottish government to make the relevant preparations to enable us to proceed with contract negotiations," he said.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
The cartel nears the end of a cycle of production hikes, while potentially difficult talks over future quotas loom.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
As the longboat nears us, men trip over one another rushing to help.
From "Blood on the River" by Elisa Carbone
As we neared the lagoon, a black-winged stilt flew alongside the car, trailing its legs behind it.
From Slate ● Sep. 8, 2026
As Mr. Daniels neared the end of his second term as governor, many free-market conservatives encouraged him to pursue the presidency in 2012.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026
The number of people missing in the catastrophic flood that sliced through the border area between Nepal and Tibet neared 3,000 on Saturday, as rescuers scoured deep, leg-sucking mud for survivors.
From Barron's ● Aug. 29, 2026
A study of more than a century of weather records found temperatures had risen across almost the entire region, and in recent summers, parts of Bundelkhand have neared 48C.
From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026
I caught his eye as I neared and nodded.
From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros
The Fire Department already has a budget nearing $1 billion and the tax is expected to generate another $345 million annually to the department that has long said it is woefully underfunded.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
Exports from the Persian Gulf have been growing strongly over the past week, with some estimates putting the flows nearing levels before the U.S.-Iran conflict, ANZ Research analysts say in a research report.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
Anthropic is nearing its IPO and investors should watch this exchange-traded fund to gauge market sentiment.
From Barron's ● Sep. 29, 2026
It all points to the suggestion that the long-awaited decision of the independent panel was not a case of this process nearing an end, but perhaps instead reaching the end of the beginning.
From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2026
It was nearing along toward Christmas time and Bubber began to talk about the Little Lord Jesus and the red bicycle he wanted Santa Claus to bring him.
From "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers
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.
