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Etymology 1

From Middle English closen (“to close, enclose”), partly continuing (in altered form) earlier Middle English clusen ("to close"; from Old English clȳsan (“to close, shut”); compare beclose, forclose, etc.); and partly derived from the Middle English adjective clos (“close, shut up, confined, secret”), from Old French clos (“close, confined”, adjective), from Latin clausus (“shut up”, past participle), from claudere (“to bar, block, close, enclose, bring an end to, confine”), from Proto-Indo-European *klāw- (“key, hook, nail”), related to Latin clāvis (“key, deadbolt, bar”), clāvus (“nail, peg”), claustrum (“bar, bolt, barrier”), claustra (“dam, wall, barricade, stronghold”). Cognate with Ancient Greek κλείς (“bar, bolt, key”), German schließen (“to close, conclude, lock”), Dutch sluiten (“to close, conclude, lock”). Replaced Old English lūcan (“to close, lock, enclose”).

Pronunciation

Verb

close (third-person singular simple present closes, present participle closing, simple past and past participle closed)

  1. To obstruct (an opening).
  2. To move so that an opening is closed.
    Close the door behind you when you leave.
    Jim was listening to headphones with his eyes closed.
  3. To put an end to.
    close the session
  4. To make (e.g. a gap) smaller.
    The runner in second place is closing the gap on the leader.
  5. (surveying) To have a vector sum of 0; that is, to form a closed polygon.
  6. (marketing) To make a sale.
  7. (baseball, pitching) To make the final outs, usually three, of a game.
    He has closed the last two games for his team.
  8. (computing) To terminate a computer program or a window or file thereof.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Derived terms
Terms derived from close (verb)
Translations
obstruct (an opening)
move (a door)
put an end to
to make smaller
surveying: to have a vector sum of 0
to make a sale

Noun

close (plural closes)

  1. An end of something.
    We owe them our thanks for bringing the project to a successful close.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Translations
end of something

Etymology 2

From French clos, from Latin clausum, participle of claudo.

Pronunciation

Adjective

close (comparative closer, superlative closest)

  1. (now rare) Closed, shut.
    • 1526, William Tyndale, trans. Bible, Matthew chapter 8:
      There is nothinge so close, that shall not be openned, and nothinge so hyd that shall not be knowen.
  2. At a little distance; near.
    Is your house close?
  3. Intimate; well-loved.
    He is a close friend.
    1. (law) Of a corporation or other business entity, closely held.
  4. (Ireland, England, Scotland, weather) hot, humid, with no wind.
  5. (linguistics, phonetics, of a vowel) articulated with the tongue body relatively close to the hard palate
Synonyms
Antonyms
Derived terms
Terms derived from close (adjective)
Translations
at a little distance
intimate

Noun

close (plural closes)

  1. (now rare) An enclosed field.
  2. (UK) A street that ends in a dead end.
  3. (Scotland) A very narrow alley between two buildings, often overhung by one of the buildings above the ground floor.
  4. A cathedral close.
Synonyms
Translations
street
narrow alley between two buildings in Scotland

Statistics

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French

Verb

close

  1. first-person singular present subjunctive of clore
  2. third-person singular present subjunctive of clore
  3. feminine past participle of clore

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Last modified on 5 May 2013, at 00:25