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Showing results for near thing. Search instead for inearthing.
Synonyms

near thing

British  

noun

  1. informal an event or action whose outcome is nearly a failure, success, disaster, etc

"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
near thing Idioms  

  1. Something just barely effected, as in That election was a near thing—he won by a handful of votes. [Mid-1700s]

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.

It was a near thing, though, even in California.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 25, 2022

The bowler is interested in the near thing, but the better chance of the wicket comes at the non-striker’s end.

From The Guardian • Jun. 19, 2021

His choice of Bush as his running mate was a near thing.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 30, 2018

Even though war had been averted, it was a near thing.

From Washington Post • Aug. 30, 2018

The future was a near thing to Katie.

From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith

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.