What does "close" mean?
An end or conclusion.
Close
/kləʊz/ adj, adv, name, noun, verb
adj, adv, name, noun, verb ·Top 500 ·Elementary level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: An end or conclusion.
- Grammar: close is listed as adj, adv, name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: end, closing, conclusion, finale.
- Useful contrasts: aloof, cool, distant.
- Usage evidence: How many close friends do you have?
How to use "close"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "close" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "close" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "close" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "close" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "close" is acting as adj, adv, name, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "end" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "close", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 An end or conclusion.
"We owe them our thanks for bringing the project to a successful close."
- 2 An enclosed field, especially a field enclosed around a (usually religious) building. Yorkshire, archaic
- 3 the concluding part of any performance wordnet
- 4 The manner of shutting; the union of parts; junction.
"The doors of plank were; their close exquisite."
- 5 A street that ends in a dead end. British
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- 6 the last section of a communication wordnet
- 7 The point at the end of a sales pitch when the consumer is asked to buy.
"Regardless of the situation, the minute you feel it's time for the close, try it."
- 8 A very narrow alley between two buildings, often overhung by one of the buildings above the ground floor. Scotland
- 9 the temporal end; the concluding time wordnet
- 10 A grapple in wrestling.
"The intestine shocke, And furious cloze of ciuill Butchery."
- 11 The common staircase in a tenement. Scotland
"The woman nodded at a nearby flight of steps. 'This is my close. We can talk in here. Come on.'."
- 12 The conclusion of a strain of music; cadence.
"At every close she made, the attending throng / Replied, and bore the burden of the song."
- 13 A cathedral close.
"closes surrounded by the venerable abodes of deans and canons."
- 14 A double bar marking the end.
- 15 The interest which one may have in a piece of ground, even though it is not enclosed
- 16 The time when check-in staff will no longer accept passengers for a flight.
Verb
- 1 To remove or block an opening, gap or passage through.; To move a thing, or part of a thing, nearer to another so that the gap or opening between the two is removed. ambitransitive, physical
"Close the door behind you when you leave."
- 2 finish a game in baseball by protecting a lead wordnet
- 3 To remove or block an opening, gap or passage through.; To obstruct or block. physical, transitive
"They closed the road for the festival."
- 4 complete a business deal, negotiation, or an agreement wordnet
- 5 To remove or block an opening, gap or passage through.; To become denser or more crowded with objects. intransitive, physical
"As we penetrated further, the forest closed around us."
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- 6 unite or bring into contact or bring together the edges of wordnet
- 7 To remove or block an opening, gap or passage through.; To make or become unreceptive. figuratively, intransitive, physical, transitive
"He has closed his mind to new ideas."
- 8 move so that an opening or passage is obstructed; make shut wordnet
- 9 To remove or block an opening, gap or passage through.; To move to a position preventing fluid from flowing. intransitive, physical, transitive
- 10 become closed wordnet
- 11 To remove or block an opening, gap or passage through.; To move to a position allowing electricity to flow. intransitive, physical, transitive
- 12 fill or stop up wordnet
- 13 To remove or block an opening, gap or passage through.; To grapple; to engage in close combat. physical
"1856-1858, William H. Prescott, History of the Reign of Phillip II They boldly closed in a hand-to-hand contest."
- 14 bar access to wordnet
- 15 To remove or block an opening, gap or passage through.; To angle (a club, bat or other hitting implement) downwards and/or (for a right-hander) anticlockwise of straight. especially, intransitive, physical, transitive
- 16 bring together all the elements or parts of wordnet
- 17 To finish.; To end or conclude. transitive
"The committee chairman made a few concluding remarks and then closed the session."
- 18 draw near wordnet
- 19 To finish.; To finish; to come to an end. intransitive
"The debate closed at six o'clock."
- 20 come together, as if in an embrace wordnet
- 21 To finish.; To conclude (a sale). ergative
- 22 change one's body stance so that the forward shoulder and foot are closer to the intended point of impact wordnet
- 23 To finish.; To perform as the final act at (a show etc.). transitive
"Nirvana closed the festival."
- 24 cause a window or an application to disappear on a computer desktop wordnet
- 25 To finish.; To make the final outs, usually three, of a game. transitive
"He has closed the last two games for his team."
- 26 engage at close quarters wordnet
- 27 To finish.; To cancel or reverse (a trading position). transitive
- 28 finish or terminate (meetings, speeches, etc.) wordnet
- 29 To make or become non-operational or unavailable for use.; To put out of use or operation. transitive
"We are closing the phone lines at 9 pm."
- 30 cease to operate or cause to cease operating wordnet
- 31 To make or become non-operational or unavailable for use.; To cease operation or cease to be available. intransitive
"Phone lines will close in ten minutes."
- 32 come to a close wordnet
- 33 To make or become non-operational or unavailable for use.; To cease trading for the day, or permanently. intransitive
"The supermarket closes at eight o'clock."
- 34 be priced or listed when trading stops wordnet
- 35 To make or become non-operational or unavailable for use.; To do the tasks (putting things away, locking doors, etc.) required to prepare a store or other establishment to shut down for the night. intransitive
"Whoever closed last night forgot to turn off the closet light."
- 36 To make or become non-operational or unavailable for use.; To terminate an application, window, file or database connection, etc. ergative
"Close the file when you have finished reading data."
- 37 To make or become non-operational or unavailable for use.; To turn off; to switch off. Cyprus, Philippines, Quebec
"Please close the lights, the (electric) fan, the TV."
- 38 To come or gather around; to enclose. figuratively
"The depth closed me round about."
- 39 To have a vector sum of 0; that is, to form a closed polygon.
Adjective
- 1 Having little difference or distance in place, position, or abstractly; see also close to.; At little distance; near in space or time.
"Is your house close?"
- 2 Having little difference or distance in place, position, or abstractly; see also close to.; Almost, but not quite (getting to an answer, goal, or other state); near.
"No, but you were close."
- 3 Having little difference or distance in place, position, or abstractly; see also close to.; Almost resulting in disaster.
"Phew! That was close!"
- 4 Having little difference or distance in place, position, or abstractly; see also close to.; Nearly equal; almost evenly balanced; almost exactly matching.
"Their ages are quite close."
- 5 Having little difference or distance in place, position, or abstractly; see also close to.; Adhering strictly to a standard or original; exact or nearly so.
"a close translation; a close copy"
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- 6 Having little difference or distance in place, position, or abstractly; see also close to.; Intimate or immediate in personal relationship.
"He is a close friend."
- 7 Having little difference or distance in place, position, or abstractly; see also close to.; Involving a tight connection; involving frequent communication, shared or cooperative activity, etc.
"We have a close affiliation with the college."
- 8 Compressed, restricted, constrained, etc.; Physically narrow or confined.
"a close alley; close quarters; close confines"
- 9 Compressed, restricted, constrained, etc.; Tight, with little space separating components or elements.
"For this job it's best to use wood with a close grain."
- 10 Compressed, restricted, constrained, etc.; Strictly confined; carefully guarded.
"He was captured and kept a close prisoner."
- 11 Compressed, restricted, constrained, etc.; Tightly restricted in availability.
"The pregnancy was a close secret."
- 12 Compressed, restricted, constrained, etc.; Of a corporation or other business entity, closely held.
- 13 Compressed, restricted, constrained, etc.; Oppressive; without motion or ventilation; causing a feeling of lassitude.
"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."
- 14 Compressed, restricted, constrained, etc.; Hot, humid, with no wind. Ireland, UK
- 15 Compressed, restricted, constrained, etc.; Dense; solid; compact. archaic
"The golden globe being put into a press, [...] the water made itself way through the pores of that very close metal."
- 16 Rigorous, careful, etc.; Attentive; undeviating; strict.
"The patient was kept under close observation."
- 17 Rigorous, careful, etc.; Carefully done, detailed.
"This issue merits close examination."
- 18 Rigorous, careful, etc.; Accurate; precise.
- 19 Short.
"to cut grass or hair close"
- 20 Closed, shut. archaic
"There is nothinge so close, that shall not be openned, and nothinge so hyd that shall not be knowen."
- 21 Articulated with the tongue body relatively close to the hard palate.
- 22 With its wings at its side, closed, held near to its body (typically also statant); (of wings) in this posture.
"Crest, a cockatrice, wings close, vert, combed and wattled gu."
- 23 Difficult to obtain. dated
"Money is close."
- 24 Parsimonious; stingy. dated
"Yet were these Florentines as self-retired / In hungry pride and gainful cowardice, / As two close Hebrews in that land inspired, / Paled in and vineyarded from beggar-spies; [...]"
- 25 Out of the way of observation; secluded; secret; hidden. obsolete
"He yet kept himself close because of Saul."
- 26 Concise; to the point. archaic
"close reasoning"
- 27 Marked, evident.
Adjective
- 1 marked by fidelity to an original wordnet
- 2 rigorously attentive; strict and thorough wordnet
- 3 not far distant in time or space or degree or circumstances wordnet
- 4 at or within a short distance in space or time or having elements near each other wordnet
- 5 close in relevance or relationship wordnet
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- 6 inclined to secrecy or reticence about divulging information wordnet
- 7 crowded wordnet
- 8 (of a contest or contestants) evenly matched wordnet
- 9 giving or spending with reluctance wordnet
- 10 used of hair or haircuts wordnet
- 11 fitting closely but comfortably wordnet
- 12 confined to specific persons wordnet
- 13 strictly confined or guarded wordnet
- 14 of textiles wordnet
- 15 lacking fresh air wordnet
Adverb
- 1 In a close manner (limited contexts; more often closely).; So as to leave or create little distance or space between objects.
"The car behind was following too close and could not brake in time."
- 2 In a close manner (limited contexts; more often closely).; Carefully, in detail.
"Look close at the pictures."
- 3 In a close manner (limited contexts; more often closely).; In combination (sometimes potentially ambiguous between adverb and adjective).
"close-packed, close-knit, close-fitting"
Adverb
- 1 near in time or place or relationship wordnet
- 2 in an attentive manner wordnet
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
Example
"How many close friends do you have?"
Common questions
What is a synonym for "close"?
Common synonyms include: end, closing, conclusion, finale, finish, abandonment.
How do you use "close" in a sentence?
How many close friends do you have?
How do you pronounce "close"?
Pronounced /kləʊz/.
Etymology
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, foreclose, etc.), and partly derived from Middle English clos (“close, shut up, confined, secret”, adjective), 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 *kleh₂w- (“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 (kleís, “bar, bolt, key”), German schließen (“to close, conclude, lock”), Dutch sluiten (“to close, conclude, lock”). Partially replaced Old English lūcan (“to close, lock, enclose”), (whence English lock). Doublet of clause.
Etymology 2
Borrowed from French clos, from Latin clausum, participle of claudō.