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Narrow

//ˈnæɹ.əʊ// adj, noun, verb

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Having a small width; not wide; having opposite edges or sides that are close, especially by comparison to length or depth.

    "a narrow hallway"

  2. 2
    Of little extent; very limited; circumscribed.

    "The Jews were but a small nation, and confined to a narrow compass in the world."

  3. 3
    Restrictive; without flexibility or latitude. figuratively

    "a narrow interpretation"

  4. 4
    Contracted; of limited scope; bigoted alt-of, contracted

    "a narrow mind"

  5. 5
    Having a small margin or degree.

    "a narrow escape"

Show 5 more definitions
  1. 6
    Limited as to means; straitened dated

    "narrow circumstances"

  2. 7
    Parsimonious; niggardly; covetous; selfish.

    "a very narrow […] and stinted charity"

  3. 8
    Scrutinizing in detail; close; accurate; exact.

    "But first with narrow search I must walk round / This garden, and no corner leave unspied."

  4. 9
    Formed (as a vowel) by a close position of some part of the tongue in relation to the palate; or (according to Bell) by a tense condition of the pharynx; distinguished from wide.
  5. 10
    Of or supporting only those text characters that can fit into the traditional 8-bit representation.

    "a narrow character; a narrow stream"

Adjective
  1. 1
    lacking tolerance or flexibility or breadth of view wordnet
  2. 2
    characterized by painstaking care and detailed examination wordnet
  3. 3
    limited in extent or scope wordnet
  4. 4
    not wide wordnet
  5. 5
    very limited in degree wordnet
Noun
  1. 1
    A narrow passage, especially a contracted part of a stream, lake, or sea; a strait connecting two bodies of water. in-plural

    "the narrows of New York harbor"

  2. 2
    a narrow strait connecting two bodies of water wordnet
Verb
  1. 1
    To reduce in width or extent; to contract. transitive

    "We need to narrow the search."

  2. 2
    become tight or as if tight wordnet
  3. 3
    To get narrower. intransitive

    "The road narrows."

  4. 4
    make or become more narrow or restricted wordnet
  5. 5
    To partially lower one's eyelids in a way usually taken to suggest a defensive, aggressive or penetrating look.

    "He stepped in front of me, narrowing his eyes to slits."

Show 4 more definitions
  1. 6
    become more focused on an area of activity or field of study wordnet
  2. 7
    To contract the size of, as a stocking, by taking two stitches into one.
  3. 8
    define clearly wordnet
  4. 9
    To convert to a data type that cannot hold as many distinct values. transitive

    "to narrow an int variable to a short variable"

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English narow, narowe, narewe, narwe, naru, from Old English nearu (“narrow, strait, confined, constricted, not spacious, limited, petty; limited, poor, restricted; oppressive, causing anxiety (of that which restricts free action of body or mind), causing or accompanied by difficulty, hardship, oppressive; oppressed, not having free action; strict, severe”), from Proto-West Germanic *naru, from Proto-Germanic *narwaz (“constricted, narrow”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ner- (“to turn, bend, twist, constrict”). Cognates Cognate with North Frisian naar, noar, noor, nåår (“narrow”), Saterland Frisian noar (“narrow”), Dutch naar (“nasty, scary; sickening, unpleasant”), Danish and Swedish nor (“narrow strait”); also Sanskrit नृत् (nṛt, “to dance; act on stage, represent”).

Etymology 2

From Middle English narow, narowe, narewe, narwe, naru, from Old English nearu (“narrow, strait, confined, constricted, not spacious, limited, petty; limited, poor, restricted; oppressive, causing anxiety (of that which restricts free action of body or mind), causing or accompanied by difficulty, hardship, oppressive; oppressed, not having free action; strict, severe”), from Proto-West Germanic *naru, from Proto-Germanic *narwaz (“constricted, narrow”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ner- (“to turn, bend, twist, constrict”). Cognates Cognate with North Frisian naar, noar, noor, nåår (“narrow”), Saterland Frisian noar (“narrow”), Dutch naar (“nasty, scary; sickening, unpleasant”), Danish and Swedish nor (“narrow strait”); also Sanskrit नृत् (nṛt, “to dance; act on stage, represent”).

Etymology 3

From Middle English narwen (“to narrow”); see there for more details, but ultimately derived from the noun.

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