Near — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

adverb preposition adjective verb /ˈnir/

Meaning & Definition of Near

Near (adverb)

  1. at, within, or to a short distance or time
  2. almost, nearly
  3. in a close or intimate manner, closely

Near (preposition)

  1. close to

Near (adjective)

  1. not far distant in time, place, or degree
  2. almost happening, narrowly missed or avoided
  3. nearly not happening

Near (verb)

  1. approach

Near (preposition) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. close to

    "please don't cough near me"

    similar: about, around, by, next to, nigh, next door to
    related: alongside, beside, across, along, at, circa, toward

Near (adjective) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. being the less far of two

    "grab the comforter from the near side of the bed and fold it in half"

    similar: closer, hither, nigher, this
    related: fore, forward, front, inside
    opposite: far, farther, further, opposite, other, that
    near: distant, remote, remoter, back, outside

  2. being such only when compared to something else

    "the incessant busyness of the family next-door makes us look like we live in near retirement"

    similar: almost, approximate, comparative, relative
    related: alike, comparable, similar, equal, equivalent
    opposite: absolute, complete, downright, out-and-out, outright, perfect, pure, unqualified
    near: genuine, real, true

  3. closely resembling the object imitated

    "the dress is made from a near silk that would fool anyone but an expert"

    similar: lifelike, living, natural, naturalistic, photo-realistic, realistic, three-dimensional
    related: alike, like, matching, similar, verisimilar, akin, analogous, approximate, comparable, resembling, accurate, close, faithful, true, compelling, convincing, expressive, graphic, gritty, vivid
    opposite: nonnatural, nonrealistic, unnatural, unrealistic
    near: dissimilar, off, unalike, unlike, incomparable, unmatched, contrasted, contrasting, different, disparate, fake, mock, phony, sham

  4. not being distant in time, space, or significance

    "the famous prediction that in the near future everyone will be famous for 15 minutes"

    similar: close, close-up, immediate, nearby, neighboring, next-door, nigh, proximate, at hand, to hand
    related: abutting, adjacent, adjoining, bordering, contiguous, approaching, coming, forthcoming, oncoming, upcoming, accessible, convenient, handy, close-in, hand-to-hand
    opposite: away, deep, distant, far, faraway, far-off, remote
    near: divorced, removed, separated

  5. closely acquainted

    "only her nearest friends know she's pregnant"

    similar: bosom, buddy-buddy, chummy, close, especial, familiar, friendly, inseparable, intimate, inward, thick, tight
    related: clannish, close-knit, tight-knit, affable, boon, companionable, convivial, cordial, genial, gracious, hearty, gregarious, sociable, social, comfortable, cozy, easy, snug, amicable, neighborly, confidential, secretive, adoring, affectionate, dear, devoted, fond, loving, tender, tenderhearted, warm
    opposite: distant
    near: aloof, antisocial, cold, cool, detached, distant, frosty, remote, reserved, standoffish, unfriendly, unsociable, withdrawn

Near (adverb) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. at, within, or to a short distance or time

    "as the campers grew cold, so they gravitated nearer to the campfire"

    "as summer draws near, we usually start planning our annual vacation"

    similar: around, by, close, hard, in, nearby, nigh, at close quarters, at hand, on one's doorstep, within call
    related: hereabouts, hereaway (dialect), thereabouts, along, alongside, accessibly, conveniently, handily

  2. to a close degree

    "copy the artist's drawing into your own sketchbook as near as you can"

    similar: closely, nearly
    near: distantly, remotely

  3. very close to but not completely

    "it's near six o'clock, so we should start preparing dinner"

    similar: about, all but, almost, borderline, fair (chiefly British), fairly, feckly (chiefly Scottish), more or less, most, much, nearly, next to, nigh, practically, somewhere, virtually, well-nigh, as good as, just about, pretty much, within an inch of
    related: appreciably, by and large, chiefly, largely, mainly, mostly, kind of, partially, partly, somewhat
    near: absolutely, altogether, completely, entirely, fully, plain, plumb (chiefly dialect), quite, thoroughly, totally, utterly, well, wholly, barely, hardly, scarcely

  4. close to but not exactly

    "it takes somewhere near an hour to get there"

    similar: about, approximately, around, like, more or less, much, plus or minus, roughly, say, some, after a fashion, somewhere about, somewhere around
    related: generally, kind of, loosely, nearly, nominally, practically, virtually, well-nigh
    opposite: exactly, precisely
    near: due, even, just, sharp, smack-dab, squarely

Near (verb) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. to come near or nearer

    "as the procession nears, you'll be able to take a better picture of the graduates"

    similar: approach, belly up, close, close in, come up, draw on, nigh
    related: arrive, attain, come, gain, hit, land, make, reach, show up, turn up, waltz (up), creep up, sneak up, adjoin, border, touch, verge
    opposite: back (up or away), recede, retire, retreat, withdraw
    near: clear out, depart, exit, go, leave, light out, pull out, quit, remove, run away, shove (off), take off, walk out

  2. to move closer to

    "as we near the church, you'll be able to see the bas-relief sculptures better"

    similar: advance, approach, come, nigh
    related: drop in, enter, pop (in)
    opposite: go, recede (from), retreat, withdraw
    near: depart, exit, leave

Related Entry: Near miss (noun)

Near miss is a different word from Near. The synonyms below are for near miss, not for near.

  1. a barely successful escape from something undesirable

    "a near miss with death prompted him to give up skydiving"

    similar: close call, close shave, hairbreadth escape, narrow escape, near escape
    related: squeaker
    near: misfire

Related Entry: Near escape (phrase)

Near escape is a different word from Near. The synonyms below are for near escape, not for near.

  1. a barely successful escape from something undesirable

    "The pilot's near escape after the crash was the talk of the town for weeks."

    similar: close call, close shave, near miss, hairbreadth escape, narrow escape
    related: squeaker
    near: misfire

Related Entry: Near misses (noun)

Near misses is a different word from Near. The synonyms below are for near misses, not for near.

  1. a barely successful escape from something undesirable

    "a near miss with death prompted him to give up skydiving"

    similar: close calls, close shaves, hairbreadth escapes, narrow escapes, near escapes
    related: squeakers
    near: misfires

Related Entry: Near escapes (phrase)

Near escapes is a different word from Near. The synonyms below are for near escapes, not for near.

  1. a barely successful escape from something undesirable

    "The pilot's near escape after the crash was the talk of the town for weeks."

    similar: close calls, close shaves, near misses, hairbreadth escapes, narrow escapes
    related: squeakers
    near: misfires

Related Entry: Far and near (phrase)

Far and near is a different word from Near. The synonyms below are for far and near, not for near.

  1. in every place or in all places

    "Protests took place at schools far and near."

    similar: all over, everyplace, everywhere, far and wide, high and low, throughout, all over the place, in every corner, on all hands
    related: every which way, right and left
    opposite: nowhere

Related Entry: Wind (noun)

Wind is a different word from Near. The synonyms below are for wind, not for near.

  1. noticeable movement of air in a particular direction

    "there's a wind coming from underneath the front door"

    similar: current, draft
    related: blast, blow, flurry, gale, gust, headwind, squall, tailwind, tempest, tornado, windstorm, breath, breeze, puff, waft, zephyr

  2. a prevailing or general movement or inclination

    "the winds of public opinion are changing on this issue"

    similar: current, direction, drift, leaning, run, tendency, tide, trend
    related: curve, downside, shift, swing, turn, turnabout, upside, custom, habit, propensity, tenor, way, countercurrent, countertrend, undercurrent, undertow

  3. language that is impressive-sounding but not meaningful or sincere

    "the speech contained nothing of substance and was just a lot of wind"

    similar: bombast, fustian, gas, grandiloquence, hot air, oratory, rhetoric, verbiage
    related: claptrap, drivel, gibberish, hogwash, humbug, jabberwocky, jazz, moonshine, nonsense, affectedness, floweriness, grandiosity, loftiness, pomposity, pretension, pretentiousness, garrulity, garrulousness, verboseness, verbosity, windiness, wordiness

Synonyms, Thesaurus & Another Word for Near

The most common words with a similar meaning to Near:

Chiefly British: fair
Chiefly Scottish: feckly
about, around, by, next to, nigh, next door to, closer, hither, nigher, this, almost, approximate, comparative, relative, lifelike, living, natural, naturalistic, photo-realistic, realistic, three-dimensional, close, close-up, immediate, nearby, neighboring, next-door, proximate, bosom, buddy-buddy, chummy, especial, familiar, friendly, inseparable, intimate, inward, thick, tight, at hand

Antonyms & Opposite Words for Near

Words with the opposite meaning of Near:

far, farther, further, opposite, other, that, absolute, complete, downright, out-and-out, outright, perfect, pure, unqualified, nonnatural, nonrealistic, unnatural, unrealistic, away, deep, distant, faraway, far-off, remote, exactly, precisely, back (up or away), recede, retire, retreat

Related Words for Near

alongside, beside, across, along, at, circa, toward, fore, forward, front, inside, alike, comparable, similar, equal, equivalent, matching, verisimilar, akin, analogous, resembling, accurate, faithful, true, compelling, convincing, expressive, graphic, gritty, vivid

Near Antonyms of Near

remoter, back, outside, genuine, real, true, dissimilar, off, unalike, unlike, incomparable, unmatched, contrasted, contrasting, different, disparate, fake, mock, phony, sham, divorced, removed, separated, aloof, antisocial, cold, cool, detached, frosty, reserved

Word Forms of Near

Inflections: neared, nearing, nears

Derived words: nearness (noun)

Origin & Etymology of Near

Middle English ner, partly from ner nearer, from Old English nēar, comparative of nēah nigh; partly from Old Norse nær nearer, comparative of nā- nigh nigh

First known use: 13th century

Vocabulary Lists & Topics for Near

Words & Phrases Containing Near

near beer, Near Eastern, near field communication, near gale, near-infrared, near miss

Frequently Asked Questions about Near

What does "Near" mean?

"Near" means at, within, or to a short distance or time. As an an adverb, a preposition, an adjective and a verb, it is defined as: at, within, or to a short distance or time. It has 12 distinct senses.

What is another word for "Near"?

Other words for "Near" include about, around, by, next to, nigh, next door to, closer and hither. The best synonym depends on which meaning of "Near" you intend.

What are different ways to say "Near"?

There are 194 words and phrases with a similar meaning to "Near". Common alternatives include about, around, by, next to, nigh, next door to, closer, hither, nigher and this.

What is the opposite of "Near"?

Antonyms of "Near" include far, farther, further, opposite, other, that, absolute and complete. Near antonyms include remoter, back, outside and genuine.

How do you use "Near" in a sentence?

Examples of "Near" in a sentence: "please don't cough near me"; "grab the comforter from the near side of the bed and fold it in half"; "the incessant busyness of the family next-door makes us look like we live in near retirement".

Is "Near" a noun, verb, or adjective?

"Near" can be used as an adverb, a preposition, an adjective and a verb, depending on the context.

Is "Near" useful for IELTS, TOEFL, and other English exams?

As an A1-level word, "Near" is typical of Cambridge A1 Movers (Young Learners), TOEIC Listening & Reading 120+.

How do you pronounce "Near"?

"Near" is pronounced /ˈnir/.