8 definitions found
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Close \Close\, v. i.
1. To come together; to unite or coalesce, as the parts of a
wound, or parts separated.
What deep wounds ever closed without a scar?
--Byron.
2. To end, terminate, or come to a period; as, the debate
closed at six o'clock.
3. To grapple; to engage in hand-to-hand fight.
They boldly closed in a hand-to-hand contest.
--Prescott.
{To close} {on or upon}, to come to a mutual agreement; to
agree on or join in. ``Would induce France and Holland to
close upon some measures between them to our
disadvantage.'' --Sir W. Temple.
{To close with}.
(a) To accede to; to consent or agree to; as, to close
with the terms proposed.
(b) To make an agreement with.
{To close with the land} (Naut.), to approach the land.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Close \Close\ (? or ?), n. [OF. & F. clos an inclosure, fr.
clos, p. p. of clore. See {Close}, v. t.]
1. An inclosed place; especially, a small field or piece of
land surrounded by a wall, hedge, or fence of any kind; --
specifically, the precinct of a cathedral or abbey.
Closes surrounded by the venerable abodes of deans
and canons. --Macaulay.
2. A narrow passage leading from a street to a court, and the
houses within. [Eng.] --Halliwell
3. (Law) The interest which one may have in a piece of
ground, even though it is not inclosed. --Bouvier.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Close \Close\, a. [Compar. {Closer}; superl. {Closest}.] [Of. &
F. clos, p. p. of clore. See {Close}, v. t.]
1. Shut fast; closed; tight; as, a close box.
From a close bower this dainty music flowed.
--Dryden.
2. Narrow; confined; as, a close alley; close quarters. ``A
close prison.'' --Dickens.
3. Oppressive; without motion or ventilation; causing a
feeling of lassitude; -- said of the air, weather, etc.
If the rooms be low-roofed, or full of windows and
doors, the one maketh the air close, . . . and the
other maketh it exceeding unequal. --Bacon.
4. Strictly confined; carefully quarded; as, a close
prisoner.
5. Out of the way observation; secluded; secret; hidden. ``He
yet kept himself close because of Saul.'' --1 Chron. xii.
1
``Her close intent.'' --Spenser.
6. Disposed to keep secrets; secretive; reticent. ``For
servecy, no lady closer.'' --Shak.
7. Having the parts near each other; dense; solid; compact;
as applied to bodies; viscous; tenacious; not volatile, as
applied to liquids.
The golden globe being put into a press, . . . the
water made itself way through the pores of that very
close metal. --Locke.
8. Concise; to the point; as, close reasoning. ``Where the
original is close no version can reach it in the same
compass.'' --Dryden.
9. Adjoining; near; either in space; time, or thought; --
often followed by to.
Plant the spring crocuses close to a wall.
--Mortimer.
The thought of the Man of sorrows seemed a very
close thing -- not a faint hearsay. --G. Eliot.
10. Short; as, to cut grass or hair close.
11. Intimate; familiar; confidential.
League with you I seek And mutual amity, so strait,
so close, That I with you must dwell, or you with
me. --Milton.
12. Nearly equal; almost evenly balanced; as, a close vote.
``A close contest.'' --Prescott.
13. Difficult to obtain; as, money is close. --Bartlett.
14. Parsimonious; stingy. ``A crusty old fellow, as close as
a vise.'' --Hawthorne.
15. Adhering strictly to a standard or original; exact;
strict; as, a close translation. --Locke.
16. Accurate; careful; precise; also, attentive; undeviating;
strict; not wandering; as, a close observer.
17. (Phon.) Uttered with a relatively contracted opening of
the mouth, as certain sounds of e and o in French,
Italian, and German; -- opposed to open.
{Close borough}. See under {Borough}.
{Close breeding}. See under {Breeding}.
{Close communion}, communion in the Lord's supper, restricted
to those who have received baptism by immersion.
{Close corporation}, a body or corporation which fills its
own vacancies.
{Close fertilization}. (Bot.) See {Fertilization}.
{Close harmony} (Mus.), compact harmony, in which the tones
composing each chord are not widely distributed over
several octaves.
{Close time}, a fixed period during which killing game or
catching certain fish is prohibited by law.
{Close vowel} (Pron.), a vowel which is pronounced with a
diminished aperture of the lips, or with contraction of
the cavity of the mouth.
{Close to the wind} (Naut.), directed as nearly to the point
from which the wind blows as it is possible to sail;
closehauled; -- said of a vessel.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Close \Close\, n.
1. The manner of shutting; the union of parts; junction.
[Obs.]
The doors of plank were; their close exquisite.
--Chapman.
2. Conclusion; cessation; ending; end.
His long and troubled life was drawing to a close.
--Macaulay.
3. A grapple in wrestling. --Bacon.
4. (Mus.)
(a) The conclusion of a strain of music; cadence.
(b) A double bar marking the end.
At every close she made, the attending throng
Replied, and bore the burden of the song.
--Dryden.
Syn: Conclusion; termination; cessation; end; ending;
extremity; extreme.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Close \Close\, adv.
1. In a close manner.
2. Secretly; darkly. [Obs.]
A wondrous vision which did close imply The course
of all her fortune and posterity. --Spenser.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Close \Close\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Closed}; p. pr. & vb. n.
{Closing}.] [From OF. & F. clos, p. p. of clore to close, fr.
L. claudere; akin to G. schliessen to shut, and to E. clot,
cloister, clavicle, conclude, sluice. Cf. {Clause}, n.]
1. To stop, or fill up, as an opening; to shut; as, to close
the eyes; to close a door.
2. To bring together the parts of; to consolidate; as, to
close the ranks of an army; -- often used with up.
3. To bring to an end or period; to conclude; to complete; to
finish; to end; to consummate; as, to close a bargain; to
close a course of instruction.
One frugal supper did our studies close. --Dryden.
4. To come or gather around; to inclose; to encompass; to
confine.
The depth closed me round about. --Jonah ii. 5.
But now thou dost thyself immure and close In some
one corner of a feeble heart. --Herbert.
{A closed sea}, a sea within the jurisdiction of some
particular nation, which controls its navigation.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
close
adj 1: at or within a short distance in space or time or having
elements near each other; "close to noon"; "how close
are we to town?"; "a close formation of ships" [ant: {distant}]
2: close in relevance or relationship; "a close family"; "we
are all...in close sympathy with..."; "close kin"; "a
close resemblance" [ant: {distant}]
3: not far distant in time or space or degree or circumstances;
"near neighbors"; "in the near future"; "they are near
equals"; "his nearest approach to success"; "a very near
thing"; "a near hit by the bomb"; "she was near tears";
"she was close to tears"; "had a close call" [syn: {near}]
[ant: {far}]
4: rigorously attentive; strict and thorough; "close
supervision"; "paid close attention"; "a close study";
"kept a close watch on expenditures"
5: marked by fidelity to an original; "a close translation"; "a
faithful copy of the portrait"; "a faithful rendering of
the observed facts" [syn: {faithful}]
6: (of a contest or contestants) evenly matched; "a close
contest"; "a close election"; "a tight game" [syn: {tight}]
7: crowded; "close quarters" [syn: {confining}]
8: lacking fresh air; "a dusty airless attic"; "the dreadfully
close atmosphere"; "hot and stuffy and the air was blue
with smoke" [syn: {airless}, {stuffy}, {unaired}]
9: of textiles; "a close weave"; "smooth percale with a very
tight weave" [syn: {tight}]
10: strictly confined or guarded; "kept under close custody"
11: confined to specific persons; "a close secret"
12: fitting closely but comfortably; "a close fit" [syn: {snug},
{close-fitting}]
13: used of hair or haircuts; "a close military haircut"
14: giving or spending with reluctance; "our cheeseparing
administration"; "very close (or near) with his money";
"a penny-pinching miserly old man" [syn: {cheeseparing},
{near}, {penny-pinching}]
15: inclined to secrecy or reticence about divulging
information; "although they knew her whereabouts her
friends kept close about it" [syn: {closelipped}, {closemouthed},
{secretive}, {tightlipped}]
n 1: the temporal end; the concluding time; "the stopping point
of each round was signaled by a bell"; "the market was
up at the finish"; "they were playing better at the
close of the season" [syn: {stopping point}, {finale}, {finis},
{finish}, {last}, {conclusion}]
2: the last section of a communication; "in conclusion I want
to say..." [syn: {conclusion}, {end}, {closing}, {ending}]
3: the concluding part of any performance [syn: {finale}, {closing
curtain}, {finis}]
adv 1: near in time or place or relationship; "as the wedding day
drew near"; "stood near the door"; "don't shoot until
they come near"; "getting near to the true
explanation"; "her mother is always near"; "The end
draws nigh"; "the bullet didn't come close"; "don't
get too close to the fire" [syn: {near}, {nigh}]
2: in an attentive manner; "he remained close on his guard"
[syn: {closely}, {tight}]
v 1: cease to operate or cause to cease operating; "The owners
decided to move and to close the factory"; "My business
closes every night at 8 P.M." [syn: {fold}, {shut down},
{close down}] [ant: {open}]
2: complete a business deal, negotiation, or an agreement; "We
closed on the house on Friday"; "They closed the deal on
the building"
3: move so that an opening or passage is obstructed; make shut;
"Close the door"; "shut the window" [syn: {shut}] [ant: {open}]
4: bar access to; "Due to the accident, the road had to be
closed for several hours"
5: finish or terminate (meetings, speeches, etc.); "The meeting
was closed with a charge by the chairman of the board"
[ant: {open}]
6: draw near; "The probe closed with the space station"
7: come to a close; "The concert closed with a nocturne by
Chopin" [syn: {conclude}]
8: become closed; "The windows closed with a loud bang" [syn: {shut}]
[ant: {open}]
9: come together, as if in an embrace; "Her arms closed around
her long lost relative" [syn: {come together}]
10: unite or bring into contact or bring together the edges of;
"close the circuit"; "close a wound"
11: bring together all the elements or parts of; "Management
closed ranks"
12: engage at close quarters; "close with the enemy"
13: be priced or listed when trading stops; "The stock market
closed high this Friday"; "My new stocks closed at $59
last night"
14: cause a window or an application to disappear on a computer
desktop [ant: {open}]
15: change one's body stance so that the forward shoulder and
foot are closer to the intended point of impact
16: fill or stop up; "Can you close the cracks with caulking?"
[syn: {fill up}]
17: finish a game in baseball by protecting a lead; "The relief
pitcher closed with two runs in the second inning"
From THE DEVIL'S DICTIONARY ((C)1911 Released April 15 1993) [devils]:
CLOSE-:FISTED:, adj. Unduly desirous of keeping that which many
meritorious persons wish to obtain.
"Close-fisted Scotchman!" Johnson cried
To thrifty J. Macpherson;
"See me -- I'm ready to divide
With any worthy person."
Sad Jamie: "That is very true --
The boast requires no backing;
And all are worthy, sir, to you,
Who have what you are lacking."
Anita M. Bobe