Crossword Dictionary

What's The Definition Of 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.
\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.
\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.
\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.
\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.
\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.