| 释义 |
near preposition /nɪə(r)/ /nɪr/ (also near to, nearer (to), nearest (to)) Near to is not usually used before the name of a place, person, festival, etc.Idioms jump to other results at a short distance away from somebody/something- Do you live near here?
- Go and sit nearer (to) the fire.
Which Word? next / nearestnext / nearest- (The) next means ‘after this/that one’ in time or in a series of events, places or people:
- When is your next appointment?
- Turn left at the next traffic lights.
- Who’s next?
(The) nearest means ‘closest’ in space:- Where’s the nearest supermarket?
- Notice the difference between the prepositions nearest to and next to:
- Janet’s sitting nearest to the window (= of all the people in the room).
- Sarah’s sitting next to the window (= right beside it).
In informal British English nearest can be used instead of nearest to:- Who’s sitting nearest the door?
a short period of time from something- My birthday is very near Christmas.
- I’ll think about it nearer (to) the time (= when it is just going to happen).
Topics Timeb1 used before a number to mean ‘approximately’, ‘just below or above’- Share prices are near their record high of last year.
- Profits fell from $11 million to nearer $8 million.
similar to somebody/something in quality, size, etc.- Nobody else comes near her in intellect.
- He's nearer 70 than 60.
- This colour is nearest (to) the original.
near (doing) something close to a particular state- a state near (to) death
- She was near to tears (= almost crying).
- We came near to being killed.
Idioms - close to you in time or distance
- Help was at hand.
- The property is ideally located with all local amenities close at hand.
be close to/near the mark - to be fairly accurate in a guess, statement, etc.
- Such guesses are thought to be close to the mark.
- ‘The Times’ was nearer the mark when it said…
Topics Doubt, guessing and certaintyc2
close/dear/near to somebody’s heart - having a lot of importance and interest for somebody
near adjective /nɪə(r)/ /nɪr/ (comparative nearer, superlative nearest) In senses 1 to 4 near and nearer do not usually go before a noun; nearest can go either before or after a noun.Idioms jump to other results a short distance away synonym close2- His house is very near.
- Where's the nearest bank?
- Wales may be a near neighbour but its history is quite distinct.
Which Word? next / nearestnext / nearest- (The) next means ‘after this/that one’ in time or in a series of events, places or people:
- When is your next appointment?
- Turn left at the next traffic lights.
- Who’s next?
(The) nearest means ‘closest’ in space:- Where’s the nearest supermarket?
- Notice the difference between the prepositions nearest to and next to:
- Janet’s sitting nearest to the window (= of all the people in the room).
- Sarah’s sitting next to the window (= right beside it).
In informal British English nearest can be used instead of nearest to:- Who’s sitting nearest the door?
a short time away in the future- The conflict is unlikely to be resolved in the near future (= very soon).
- Working memory refers to the brain's ability to remember things in the short or near term.
coming next after somebody/something- She has a 12-point lead over her nearest rival.
(usually nearest) similar; most similar- He was the nearest thing to (= the person most like) a father she had ever had.
see also o.n.o. [only before noun] (no comparative or superlative) close to being somebody/something- The election proved to be a near disaster for the party.
- a near impossibility
- She spoke in a near whisper.
- The climbers had already had one near miss on the summit.
Which Word? near / closenear / close- The adjectives near and close are often the same in meaning, but in some phrases only one of them may be used:
- the near future
- a near neighbour
- a near miss
- a close contest
- a close encounter
- a close call
. Close is more often used to describe a relationship between people:- a close friend
- close family
- close links
. You do not usually use near in this way.
[only before noun] near relative/relation used to describe a close family connection- Only the nearest relatives were present at the funeral.
Topics Family and relationshipsb2 Word OriginMiddle English: from Old Norse nær ‘nearer’, comparative of ná, corresponding to Old English nēah ‘nigh’.
Idioms - (informal) your close family and friends
- a situation in which you are successful, but which could also have ended badly
- Phew! That was a near thing! It could have been a disaster.
- We won in the end but it was a near thing.
Topics Successc2
- followed by a number when counting or measuring approximately
- We calculated the cost to the nearest 50 dollars.
near adverb /nɪə(r)/ /nɪr/ (nearer, nearest) Idioms jump to other results at a short distance away- A bomb exploded somewhere near.
- She took a step nearer.
- Visitors came from near and far.
a short time away in the future- The exams are drawing near.
- (especially in compounds) almost
- a near-perfect performance
- I'm as near certain as can be.
Word OriginMiddle English: from Old Norse nær ‘nearer’, comparative of ná, corresponding to Old English nēah ‘nigh’.
Idioms - as accurately as
- There were about 3 000 people there, as near as I could judge.
as near as damn it/dammit - (British English, informal) used to say that an amount is so nearly correct that the difference does not matter
- It will cost £350, or as near as dammit.
- (British English, informal) used to say that something is so nearly true that the difference does not matter
- We've been here twenty years, near enough.
not anywhere near/nowhere near - far from; not at all
- The job doesn't pay anywhere near enough for me.
- Older cars are nowhere near as fuel-efficient as modern cars.
pretty near (North American English) (British English pretty nearly) (also pretty much/well British and North American English) - (informal) almost; almost completely
- The first stage is pretty near finished.
- used to comment on something that was almost successful but in fact failedTopics Difficulty and failurec2
near verb /nɪə(r)/ /nɪr/ [transitive, intransitive] (rather formal) jump to other results - near (something) to come close to something in time or space synonym approach
- The project is nearing completion.
- She was nearing the end of her life.
- He must be nearing 40.
- We neared the top of the hill.
- As Christmas neared, the children became more and more excited.
Extra Examples- As she neared the door she slipped and fell.
- As the bus neared we could see someone waving.
- As we neared the island the cloud became thicker.
- He began to worry as the day of their visit neared.
- Her stay in New York was nearing its end.
- It was nearing midnight.
- Many of the teachers were nearing retirement.
- More troops were nearing the besieged city.
- She smiled as she neared the little group.
- We were obviously nearing the airport.
Oxford Collocations DictionaryNear is used with these nouns as the subject: Near is used with these nouns as the object: See full entry Word OriginMiddle English: from Old Norse nær ‘nearer’, comparative of ná, corresponding to Old English nēah ‘nigh’.
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