Phrase guide

close to

adv · prep · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

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Pronunciation

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1

adv

Meaning 1

Approximately.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • It lasted close to an hour.
  • It rained for close to forty days and forty nights.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: -ish, about, all but, almost, approaching, around, by and large, circa, close, close to, essentially, for all practical purposes, fornigh, give or take, imprecisely, just about, kind of, loosely, more or less, nearly, near, nearabout, nigh on, odd, or so, plus or minus, roundly, roughly, say, some, -some, sort of, thereabout, virtually, well-nigh, ±

Antonyms: none provided

2

adv

Meaning 2

Nearly; almost.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: informal

Examples

  • The project is close to finished.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

prep

Meaning 3

Near.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • The chair was close to the window.
  • She looked fraught and close to tears.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

adverb

Meaning 4

(of quantities) imprecise but fairly close to correct

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • lasted approximately an hour
  • in just about a minute
  • he's about 30 years old
  • I've had about all I can stand
  • we meet about once a month
  • some forty people came
  • weighs around a hundred pounds
  • roughly $3,000
  • holds 3 gallons, more or less
  • 20 or so people were at the party

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: approximately, about, just about, some, roughly, more or less, around, or so

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

20 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Albanian: afer — near
  • Arabic: بِالْقُرْب مِن (bi-l-qurb min) — near
  • Arabic: بِجَانِب (bi-jānib) — near
  • Arabic: جنب (ganb) — near
  • French: proche de — near
  • French: près de — near
  • Icelandic: nálægt — near
  • Irish: achomair — near
  • Latin: circiter — near
  • Old Norse: við — near
  • Polish: blisko — near
  • Polish: obok — near
  • Portuguese: perto de — near
  • Portuguese: próximo de — near
  • Scottish Gaelic: faisg air — near
  • Scottish Gaelic: goirid do — near
  • Spanish: cerca de — near
  • Spanish: cerca a — near
  • Vietnamese: ở gần — near
  • Vietnamese: gần — near