Meaning of close in English

close downWith sales down, the company closed one factory down and reduced the workforce at another.
closeMany of the shops in the High Street have closed recently.
shut downThe bookshop is shutting down after 25 years of business.
shutUK Several of the bank's local branches are shutting.
shut up shopUK The seaside businesses all shut up shop during the winter.
go/put out of businessMy favourite ice cream shop went out of business last summer.

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close a deal

to make a successful business arrangement with someone:

close a deal with We closed a deal with a major supermarket.

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She spoke against the decision to close the college.
The local council has decreed that the hospital should close.
We had to close our London office - with the rent so high it just wasn't economic.
Sales have fallen badly this year, to the extent that we will have to close some of our shops.
The country's government has come under fire for its decision to close the mines.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Causing something to end

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close verb (REDUCE)

[ T ]

to reduce the space, distance, or difference between things:

close a gap The leading group of five riders were almost a minute ahead, but he has succeeded in closing the gap.

He said that schools need to work on closing the achievement gap between girls and boys.

Is it too late to close the divide between the town's religious communities?

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The tax office must make more effort to close the gulf between what taxpayers owe and how much it collects.
We have tried to close the skills gap through more full-time education.

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Becoming and making smaller or less

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Idioms

close your eyes to something
close ranks
close up shop

Phrasal verbs

close (something) down
close in
close something off
close on sb/sth

noun

close noun (END)

[ S ] uk

/kləʊz/ us

/kloʊz/

the end of something, or the time when you end it:

at the close of At the close of the meeting, the contract remained unsigned.

The season is now nearing its close.

See also

close of business

close of play

Thesaurus: synonyms, antonyms, and examples

the final part of something

endThis mammal roamed the steppes during the end of the last Ice Age.
closeStock prices were up 6 percent at the close of the trading day.
culminationThis starring role in a West End musical is the culmination of her years of hard work in local theatres.
completionAt the completion of the exam, please return the materials to the proctor's desk and exit the room quietly.
endpointBoth parties agree that they have reached a suitable endpoint to the negotiations.

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bring/draw something to a close

to make something finish:

I tried to bring the conversation to a close.

come/draw to a close

to end:

The singer's tour comes to a close in Tokyo tonight.

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The character's fate at the close of the book remains unclear.
An auction of artwork was organized for the close of the show.
They discussed the period from the beginning of the Seven Years' War to the close of the Napoleonic Wars.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Ends and endings

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close noun (ROAD)

[ C ] UK uk

/kləʊs/ us

/kloʊs/

a road, usually with private houses, that vehicles can only enter from one end:

He lives at 83 Barker Close.

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Roads: urban & residential streets

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adjective

/kləʊs/ us

/kloʊs/

close adjective (RELATIONSHIP)

having direct family connections or shared beliefs, support, and sympathy:

close family There weren't many people at the funeral - just close family.

close relative Only close relatives were invited.

close link They're a worrying political party because of their close links with terrorist groups.

close ties The close ties that bind Australia and New Zealand go beyond our shared values.

close bond In those early months, there's a very close bond between mother and child.

a close community

People who are close know each other very well and like each other a lot, or they see and talk to each other a lot:

close friend Mira is one of my closest friends.

close to Her relationship isn't good with her father, but she's very close to her mother.

My brother and I have become much closer over the years.

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Did you form any close friendships while you were at college?
Historically, there have always been close links between France and Scotland.
All her close relatives came to the wedding.
She is one of the president's closest advisers.
We haven't always been close, but she was there for me when I needed her.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Family: relations in general

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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

Relationships: general words

Friendly

close adjective (CAREFUL)

looking at or listening to someone or something very carefully:

close attention Police are paying close attention to the situation.

close look Take a closer look at this photograph.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Paying attention and being careful

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close adjective (SECRETIVE)

unwilling to talk about things to other people:

close about He's so close about his past - it seems like he's hiding something.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Secrecy and privacy

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close adjective (LACKING AIR)

used to describe weather or air conditions in which it is difficult to breathe and it is uncomfortably warm:

Can I open the window? It's very close in here.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Hot & heat

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adjective, adverb

/kləʊs/ us

/kloʊs/

close adjective, adverb (NEAR)

not far in position or time:

close to Don't get too close to that dog, Rosie.

I hate people standing too close to me.

As Christmas gets closer, the shops get more and more crowded.

close to tears Emma looked close to tears (= almost going to cry).

Thesaurus: synonyms, antonyms, and examples

to come closer in space or time

approachA stranger approached and asked to have her picture taken with him.
come/get closerThe swarm of bees was coming closer and closer.
come/get nearerAs she came nearer the building the movement of the crowd became slower.
draw closer/nearerThe holidays are drawing closer.
come upA stranger came up to me and shook my hand.
walk, go, etc. upI went up to him and asked him who he was.

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close by

near:

Shall we call in on Miranda? You know she lives quite close by.

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Walking along the darkened street, he heard footsteps close behind him.
Bodyguards surrounded the singer so that photographers couldn't get close.
We live close to the railway line.
Although close to tears, she tried to make her voice sound casual.
He told her to stay close and not to wander off again.

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Closeness in distance and time

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close adjective, adverb (SIMILAR)

having only a small difference:

The election results were so close they had to vote again.

He came second in the race, but it was very close.

close in The youngest boys are so close in age they look like twins.

close resemblance Both children bear a very close resemblance to their father.

Thesaurus: synonyms, antonyms, and examples

looking or being almost but not exactly the same

similarI have a sofa quite similar to yours.
likeShe's a lot like her mother.
alikeThe girls look alike.
closeMy cousin and I are quite close in age.
something likeI was worried something like this would happen.

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close on/to (US usually close to)

almost:

I think there are close on three million unemployed at present.

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There are several close affinities between the two paintings.
He won the race, but it was very close.
Eventually we chose Mary for the job, but it was a close decision.
The children are very close in their musical ability.
All three of us are close in age.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Similar and the same

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Idioms

close, but no cigar
at close quarters/range
be close to the bone
be too close for comfort
come close to blows
that was close!

(Definition of close from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

close | American Dictionary

adjective, adverb [ -er/-est only ]

/kloʊs/

close adjective, adverb [-er/-est only] (NEAR)

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near in position, time, or condition:

The store was close by, so they decided to walk.

It’s close to 7 o’clock – we’d better leave now.

The child moved closer to his mother.

She was very close to death for awhile.

Idiom

close call

adjective

/kloʊs/

close adjective (CONNECTED)

[ -er/-est only ]

connected or involved in strong relationship with someone:

Charmaine is my closest friend.

Joyce and I used to be close, but now we seldom see each other.

close adjective (SIMILAR)

[ -er/-est only ]

similar; of the same type:

Your computer is pretty close to the one I have.

[ -er/-est only ]

If a game or competition is close, both sides have almost the same score.

close adjective (CAREFUL)

[ -er/-est only ]

giving your full attention to something so that you notice its details:

I wasn’t the one driving, so I wasn’t paying close attention to the route we took.

close adjective (WARM)

[ not gradable ]

very warm, with no movement of air:

It was uncomfortably close in the gym.

verb [ I/T ]

/kloʊz/

close verb [I/T] (MAKE NOT OPEN)

to change from being open to not being open, or to cause this to happen:

[ T ] Come in and close the door.

[ T ] Because of an accident, police closed (= blocked) two lanes of the expressway.

[ T ] Grace closed her eyes to think.

close verb [I/T] (END/STOP)

to end or stop operating, or to cause this to happen:

[ T ] Authorities closed the aging nuclear plant.

[ I ] After a run of three months, the show closes on Saturday.

(esp. of a business) To close is also to temporarily stop being available to customers:

[ I ] The store closes at 9 tonight.

close verb [I/T] (COMPLETE)

to make a financial or business arrangement complete:

[ T ] The manufacturer is closing a deal to sell its boating division.

close

noun [ C usually sing ] us

/kloʊz/

The ski season has come to a close.

closing

noun [ C ] us

/ˈkloʊ·zɪŋ/

The closing for the house was set for April.

Phrasal verbs

close down (something)
close in
close off something
close out something

(Definition of close from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

close | Business English

verb

/kləʊz/ us

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[ I or T ]

if a shop, restaurant, or public place closes or someone closes it, it stops being open for business at the end of the day, week, etc.:

The store closes at 5.30.

close (sth) to sb The banks had closed to customers so I couldn't pay the money in.

We usually close the bar around midnight.

[ I or T ]

if a business closes or is closed, it stops operating permanently:

The factory closed with the loss of 250 jobs.

The organization will be forced to let staff go and close many of its offices.

[ I ] FINANCE, STOCK MARKET

if a market, currency, share, etc. closes, it stops trading or being traded at the end of the working day:

The company released its statement after the market closed on Friday.

close up/down The Dow Jones closed up 94.90 at 10,623.60.

close at sth The pound closed at $1.47, down from $1.49 yesterday.

[ I or T ]

to finish, or to make something end:

At 11.45 the Chair closed the meeting.

close (sth) with sth She closed with a few remarks about the future.

[ I or T often passive ]

if something closes or is closed, there is no longer an opportunity to become involved because a particular date has been reached:

Applications for the post close on Wednesday 14 September.

Booking for the course is now closed.

[ I or T ] IT

if a computer program or a window on a computer screen closes, or if you close it, it stops operating because you tell it to:

Click on the 'X' to close the window and exit the application.

This file won't close.

[ T ] BANKING

to remove all the money from a bank account and stop using it permanently:

I closed that account when I moved to the UK.

close a deal

to complete a successful business arrangement with someone:

The company plans to sell its generic drug unit and expects to close the deal in late March.

Phrasal verb

close (sth) down

noun [ C, usually singular ]

/kləʊz/ us

the end of something:

bring/draw sth to a close I tried to bring the meeting to a close.

at the close of sth At the close of the financial year, the balance amounted to $418 million.

FINANCE, STOCK MARKET

the end of a day's trading on a market:

the close of business/trading His exit was announced after the close of trading.

at the close The IT services specialist was down 7.25p to 196.5p at the close.

(the) close of play

FINANCE, STOCK MARKET

the end of a working day or of a day's trading:

The bank said that a check paid in on Monday cannot be bounced after close of play on Thursday.

at/by (the) close of play The share price had almost doubled to 95.5p at close of play on Friday.

(Definition of close from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of close

However, to have an authority figure require that a patient justify his or her plans comes perilously close to coercion.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

However, close monitoring and a quick response seem to be the key factors in achieving success.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

But they had - at the same time - to be war y that mathematics was not "so close" to applications as to produce unwanted philosophical conflict.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The analysis shows that there is a close relationship between the action conveyed in a turn and its phonetic format.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

These pronominals that indicate mid-level formality seem to include some element of closer psychological distance.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The policy network representing the interests of the mainland heavy industry (most importantly the metallurgical industry) comes very close to the ideal type policy community.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The preceding analysis provides prima facie evidence of close linkages between political parties, policy preferences and market outcomes.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

However, their closest collaborators remained and have acted as surrogate aristocrats.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Cases with ventricular septal defect which closed spontaneously have been removed from the analysis.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

This partially explains the organization of domestic architectural spaces that are close to each other and contain a multifunctional space surrounding a courtyard.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

On closer viewing, the individual boards and the grain of the timber are revealed as traces of construction.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Table 1) that determines how close two molecules or surfaces can get.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The proposed solution is to maintain the robot's position inside, but close, to the boundary of the target's field of view.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Thus, there is need to have a close working relationship with them.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

This is probably an artefact caused by the relative scarcity of saplings and a few larger saplings found close to adult trees.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

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These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.

What is the pronunciation of close?