Neapolitan ice cream
Neapolitan ice cream

near


Definition: Meaning of, near in English to English dictionary.

Pronunciation: / nɪə /

  • adverb, preposition
  • synonym
  • antonym
  1. short distance away only a short distance from a person or thing [↪  close, nearby]
    1. Our house is near the lake.
    2. I left the books near the box but when I came back they were gone.
    SYNONYM
    close, vicinity, next to, by
    ANTONYM
    away, far
  2. short time before soon before a particular time or event
    1. When we got home it was nearly midnight.
    2. You only study when your exam gets near.
    SYNONYM
    close to, around
    ANTONYM
    Not found!
  3. almost doing something almost doing something or almost in a particular state
    1. When the police found the kid he was nearly unconscious.
    2. I had a near death experience when my car hit the tree trunk.
    SYNONYM
    close, almost
    ANTONYM
    away
  4. amount or level almost at a particular amount or level
    1. As the Stock Market went bullish our portfolio’s value it is near 200%.
    2. The total number of pages in this volume near 100.
    SYNONYM
    close to, almost, reaching, range
    ANTONYM
    far from, not quite
  5. similar if something is near something else, it is similar to it
    1. The group home is a near home to her.
    2. Sweet and sour is a near desert.
    SYNONYM
    similar, alike, akin
    ANTONYM
    dissimilar
  6. near perfect/impossible etc almost perfect, impossible etc
    1. She can never make a mistake she is near perfect.
    2. The chances of his passing the test are near impossible.
    SYNONYM
    almost, virtually, practically
    ANTONYM
    exactly, precisely, accurately
  7. draw near if an event is drawing near, it is nearly time for it to happen
    1. As the time to go on the stage drew near she felt wobbly and nauseating.
    2. The Day of Reckoning is getting nearer.
    SYNONYM
    closer, approached, loomed
    ANTONYM
    Far, distant
  8. (as) near as damn it British English spoken used to say that something is very nearly true or correct
    1. He is as near the truth as damn it.
    2. The books will cost 3000 dirhams, as nears as damn it.
    SYNONYM
    Not found!
    ANTONYM
    Not found!
  9. near enough British English used to say that something is nearly true or correct
    1. While it may not be an original but it is near enough.
    2. He is not a Spiderman but with this costume he is near enough.
    3. We haven’t reached our destination but we are near enough.
    SYNONYM
    almost, nearly
    ANTONYM
    hardly, barely, too far
  10. nowhere near/not anywhere near used before an adjective or adverb to say that something is definitely not true
    1. He is nowhere near the standard enough wealth.
    2. We have been walking for the past three hours and we are not anywhere near the village or any of the settlements.
    SYNONYM
    not even close, far, away, not close
    ANTONYM
    close
  11. not come near somebody/something if one person or thing does not come near another one, it is not at all as good as the other one
    1. You don’t come near him when it comes to character or showing responsibility.
    2. He isn’t nearly as good as she even on her bad days.
    SYNONYM
    unlike, quality
    ANTONYM
    like, similar
  12. somebody will not go near somebody/something if someone will not go near a person or thing, they dislike or are frightened of them and will not speak to the person or use the thing
    1. My son doesn’t want to go near a car.
    2. In his mid-thirties drinks alcohol but in his youth he never went near it.
    SYNONYM
    proximity, close to, associate, use, consume, take
    ANTONYM
    stay away, distance
synonym
antonym
  • adjective
  • synonym
  • antonym
Word Forms:
Positive Comparative Superlative
N/A N/A N/A
  1. only a short distance away from someone or something [↪  close, nearby]
    1. When we went for camping I sat near the fire.
    2. She found the dead mouse near balcony.
    SYNONYM
    close to, proximity, next to, within
    ANTONYM
    far, at a distance, not close
  2. a near disaster/collapse etc almost a DISASTER, COLLAPSE etc
    1. Our grandfather took out the fire extinguisher and saved us from a near disaster.
    2. I was near destruction when I took so much loan.
    SYNONYM
    almost, certain, sure
    ANTONYM
    uncertain, iffy
  3. the nearest thing/equivalent to something the thing you have that is most like a particular type of thing
    1. A shack put up on branches is the nearest thing to these orphans can call home.
    2. Taking a test drive is the nearest I have been to owning a Mercedes.
    SYNONYM
    Not found!
    ANTONYM
    Not found!
  4. in the near future soon
    1. I’ll see you in the near future.
    2. Right now all the projects are taken but I’ll give you a shout in the near future.
    SYNONYM
    soon, shortly, momentarily
    ANTONYM
    later, after
  5. be a near thing British English if something you succeed in doing is a near thing, you manage to succeed but you nearly failed
    1. I won the competition but it was a near thing.
    2. The battle was a near thing, how did you win?
    SYNONYM
    neck to neck, fierce, cliffhanger, close squeeze, tight margin, stiff competition
    ANTONYM
    Not found!
  6. be a near thing British English used to say that you just managed to avoid a dangerous or unpleasant situation
    SYNONYM
    Not found!
    ANTONYM
    Not found!
  7. near miss when a bomb, plane, car etc nearly hits something but does not
    1. The moment we got on the plane the alarm went on making it a near miss.
    2. We were close to collision but it was a near miss.
    SYNONYM
    close call, narrow escape, hair breath escape, narrow miss, narrow squeeze
    ANTONYM
    hit, strike
  8. near miss a situation in which something almost happens, or someone almost achieves something
    1. I could have won but it was a near miss.
    2. The thing about dreams is that they usually turn out to be a near miss.
    SYNONYM
    Not found!
    ANTONYM
    Not found!
  9. to the nearest £10/hundred etc an amount to the nearest £10, hundred etc is the number nearest to it that can be divided by £10, a hundred etc
    1. The bill was £40.5 and the seller rounded it to the nearest £10, and charged us only £40.
    2. We can approximate the population to the nearest 100,000.
    SYNONYM
    round off, close to, approximate
    ANTONYM
    accurate, correct, exact, true figure
  10. near relative/relation a relative who is very closely related to you such as a parent
    1. Jane is a near cousin.
    2. My boss is my near relative.
    SYNONYM
    close, blood, first generation
    ANTONYM
    unrelated
  11. somebody's nearest and dearest someone's family - used humorously
    1. We invited all the near and dear ones.
    2. This Christmas I made sure that all my near and dear ones receive a card from me.
    SYNONYM
    family
    ANTONYM
    outsiders
  12. [only before noun, no comparative] used to describe the side of something that is closest to where you are
    1. The near side tire is burst.
    2. Pull out the curtain from the near side.
    SYNONYM
    Not found!
    ANTONYM
    Not found!
  13. [only before noun, no comparative] British English used when talking about the parts of a vehicle to mean the one that is closest to the side of the road when you drive
    1. He came from my near side.
    2. The near side tire got hit by the bullet.
    SYNONYM
    Right side
    ANTONYM
    Left side
synonym
antonym
  • verb
  • synonym
  • antonym
Word Forms:
Prsesent Past Past Participle
near neared neared
Present Participle Third Person Singular
nearing nears
[written]
  1. [transitive] to come closer to a place [=  approach]
    SYNONYM
    Not found!
    ANTONYM
    Not found!
  2. [transitive] to come closer to being in a particular state
    SYNONYM
    Not found!
    ANTONYM
    Not found!
  3. [transitive] to come closer to a particular time
    SYNONYM
    Not found!
    ANTONYM
    Not found!
  4. [intransitive] if a time nears, it gets closer and will come soon
    SYNONYM
    Not found!
    ANTONYM
    Not found!
synonym
antonym

near used in phrases

  • Near East (noun)
    1. the Near East the Middle East
  • come near (verb)
    1. almost do or experience something
    2. move towards
  • draw near (verb)
    1. move towards
  • far and near (adverb)
    1. over great areas or distances; everywhere
  • near beer (noun)
    1. drink that resembles beer but with less than 1/2 percent alcohol
  • near gale (noun)
    1. wind moving 32-38 knots; 7 on the Beaufort scale
  • near miss (noun)
    1. an accidental collision that is narrowly avoided
  • near thing (noun)
    1. something that barely avoids failure or disaster
  • near vision (noun)
    1. vision for objects 2 feet or closer to the viewer
  • near-blind (adjective)
    1. having greatly reduced vision
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Pronunciation: ɡəʊ ˈgɛtɪŋ
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near beer