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The Collaborative International Dictionary
Closest

Close \Close\ (kl[=o]s), a. [Compar. Closer (kl[=o]"s[~e]r); 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 secrecy, 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.

Wiktionary
closest

a. (en-superlative of: close).

WordNet
closest

adv. (superlative of `near' or `close') within the shortest distance; "that was the time he came nearest to death" [syn: nearest, nighest]

Usage examples of "closest".

Ulasim, closest to her, guided his mother into his chair while Chenaol poured a cup of mango juice.

The next day Winnamine reluctantly agreed to a riding party, but no farther away than the closest park, which had only simple horse trails and no room to gallop.

The rebellions began on the estates nearest the sea, closest to the lands and towns that would be the first on the island to get help by water.

He may even have sent agents last year to whisper ideas to the raka who lived closest to the coast, where ships could unload men and supplies.

Inside the pavilion, the group of ladies seated closest to the bridge was commanded by Princess Imajane.

Imajane demanded the deaths of everyone in the village closest to the fight.

Lord Obemaek told Fes-gao that if worse came to worst, the families could flee Raj-muat from the house closest to the docks.

Starting with the one closest to the hall where the fire burned, she got to work on the padlock on his chains.

And how come before Vicki got mixed up with Fitzroy the closest thing to a supernatural occurrence in the city was when the Leafs managed to win two in a row?

I am set to one side, different from the closest thing to community I have known.

The closest I ever got to ancient Egypt was doing a little overtime at the Tut exhibit.

If I see nothing, I will signal you from atop the wall closest to the aviary.

Sharpe looked behind again and saw the closest Dragoons were now just fifty yards away.

The Dragoons closest to the Prussians immediately turned and galloped back up the slope towards their comrades.

Indeed, apart from his Chief of Staff and a handful of aides, all his closest friends were English.