dictionary definitions for "narrow"


From WordNet (r) 2.0 (August 2003) [wn]:

  narrow
      adj 1: not wide; "a narrow bridge"; "a narrow line across the page"
              [ant: wide]
      2: limited in size or scope; "the narrow sense of a word"
      3: lacking tolerance or flexibility or breadth of view; "a
         brilliant but narrow-minded judge"; "narrow opinions"
         [syn: narrow-minded] [ant: broad-minded]
      4: very limited in degree; "won by a narrow margin"; "a narrow
         escape" [ant: wide]
      5: characterized by painstaking care and detailed examination;
         "a minute inspection of the grounds"; "a narrow scrutiny";
         "an exact and minute report" [syn: minute]
      n : a narrow strait connecting two bodies of water
      v 1: make or become more narrow or restricted; "The selection was
           narrowed"; "The road narrowed" [syn: contract] [ant:
           widen]
      2: define clearly; "I cannot narrow down the rules for this
         game" [syn: pin down, peg down, nail down, {narrow
         down}, specify]
      3: become more special; "We specialize in dried flowers" [syn:
         specialize, specialise, narrow down] [ant:
         diversify]
      4: become tight or as if tight; "Her throat constricted" [syn:
         constrict, constringe]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Narrow \Nar"row\ (n[a^]r"r[-o]), a. [Compar. Narrower
     (n[a^]r"r[-o]*[~e]r); superl. Narrowest.] [OE. narwe, naru,
     AS. nearu; akin to OS. naru, naro.]
     1. Of little breadth; not wide or broad; having little
        distance from side to side; as, a narrow board; a narrow
        street; a narrow hem.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Hath passed in safety through the narrow seas.
                                                    --Shak.
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     2. Of little extent; very limited; circumscribed.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              The Jews were but a small nation, and confined to a
              narrow compass in the world.          --Bp. Wilkins.
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     3. Having but a little margin; having barely sufficient
        space, time, or number, etc.; close; near[5]; -- with
        special reference to some peril or misfortune; as, a
        narrow shot; a narrow escape; a narrow miss; a narrow
        majority. --Dryden.
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     4. Limited as to means; straitened; pinching; as, narrow
        circumstances.
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     5. Contracted; of limited scope; illiberal; bigoted; as, a
        narrow mind; narrow views. "A narrow understanding."
        --Macaulay.
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     6. Parsimonious; niggardly; covetous; selfish.
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              A very narrow and stinted charity.    --Smalridge.
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     7. Scrutinizing in detail; close; accurate; exact.
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              But first with narrow search I must walk round
              This garden, and no corner leave unspied. --Milton.
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     8. (Phon.) 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; as [=e] ([=e]ve) and [=oo]
        (f[=oo]d), etc., from [i^] ([i^]ll) and [oo^] (f[oo^]t),
        etc. See Guide to Pronunciation, [sect]13.
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     Note: Narrow is not unfrequently prefixed to words,
           especially to participles and adjectives, forming
           compounds of obvious signification; as,
           narrow-bordered, narrow-brimmed, narrow-breasted,
           narrow-edged, narrow-faced, narrow-headed,
           narrow-leaved, narrow-pointed, narrow-souled,
           narrow-sphered, etc.
           [1913 Webster]
  
     Narrow gauge. (Railroad) See Note under Gauge, n., 6.
        [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Narrow \Nar"row\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Narrowed; p. pr. & vb.
     n. Narrowing.] [AS. nearwian.]
     1. To lessen the breadth of; to contract; to draw into a
        smaller compass; to reduce the width or extent of. --Sir
        W. Temple.
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     2. To contract the reach or sphere of; to make less liberal
        or more selfish; to limit; to confine; to restrict; as, to
        narrow one's views or knowledge; to narrow a question in
        discussion.
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              Our knowledge is much more narrowed if we confine
              ourselves to our own solitary reasonings. --I.
                                                    Watts.
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     3. (Knitting) To contract the size of, as a stocking, by
        taking two stitches into one.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Narrow \Nar"row\, v. i.
     1. To become less broad; to contract; to become narrower; as,
        the sea narrows into a strait.
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     2. (Man.) Not to step out enough to the one hand or the
        other; as, a horse narrows. --Farrier's Dict.
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     3. (Knitting) To contract the size of a stocking or other
        knit article, by taking two stitches into one.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Narrow \Nar"row\, n.; pl. Narrows.
     A narrow passage; esp., a contracted part of a stream, lake,
     or sea; a strait connecting two bodies of water; -- usually
     in the plural; as, The Narrows of New York harbor.
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           Near the island lay on one side the jaws of a dangerous
           narrow.                                  --Gladstone.
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