From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
near
adv 1: near in time or place or relationship; "as the wedding
day drew near"; "stood near the door"; "don't shoot until
they come near"; "getting near to the true explanation";
"her mother is always near"; "The end draws nigh"; "the
bullet didn't come close"; "don't get too close to the
fire" [syn: near, nigh, close]
2: (of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite
accomplished; all but; "the job is (just) about done"; "the
baby was almost asleep when the alarm sounded"; "we're almost
finished"; "the car all but ran her down"; "he nearly
fainted"; "talked for nigh onto 2 hours"; "the recording is
well-nigh perfect"; "virtually all the parties signed the
contract"; "I was near exhausted by the run"; "most everyone
agrees" [syn: about, almost, most, nearly, near,
nigh, virtually, well-nigh]
adj 1: not far distant in time or space or degree or
circumstances; "near neighbors"; "in the near future";
"they are near equals"; "his nearest approach to
success"; "a very near thing"; "a near hit by the bomb";
"she was near tears"; "she was close to tears"; "had a
close call" [syn: near, close, nigh] [ant: far]
2: being on the left side; "the near or nigh horse is the one on
the left"; "the animal's left side is its near or nigh side"
[syn: {near(a)}, {nigh(a)}]
3: closely resembling the genuine article; "near beer"; "a dress
of near satin"
4: giving or spending with reluctance; "our cheeseparing
administration"; "very close (or near) with his money"; "a
penny-pinching miserly old man" [syn: cheeseparing,
close, near, penny-pinching, skinny]
5: with or in a close or intimate relationship; "a good friend";
"my sisters and brothers are near and dear" [syn: dear,
good, near]
6: very close in resemblance; "sketched in an approximate
likeness"; "a near likeness" [syn: approximate, near]
v 1: move towards; "We were approaching our destination"; "They
are drawing near"; "The enemy army came nearer and nearer"
[syn: approach, near, come on, go up, draw near,
draw close, come near]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Near \Near\, a. [Compar. Nearer; superl. Nearest.] [See
Near, adv.]
1. Not far distant in time, place, or degree; not remote;
close at hand; adjacent; neighboring; nigh. "As one near
death." --Shak.
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He served great Hector, and was ever near,
Not with his trumpet only, but his spear. --Dryden.
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2. Closely connected or related.
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She is thy father's near kinswoman. --Lev. xviii.
12.
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3. Close to one's interests, affection, etc.; touching, or
affecting intimately; intimate; dear; as, a near friend.
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4. Close to anything followed or imitated; not free, loose,
or rambling; as, a version near to the original.
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5. So as barely to avoid or pass injury or loss; close;
narrow[3]; as, a near escape; a near miss.
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6. Next to the driver, when he is on foot; in the Unted
States, on the left of an animal or a team; as, the near
ox; the near leg. See Off side, under Off, a.
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7. Immediate; direct; close; short. "The nearest way."
--Milton.
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8. Close-fisted; parsimonious. [Obs. or Low, Eng.]
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Note: Near may properly be followed by to before the thing
approached; but more frequently to is omitted, and the
adjective or the adverb is regarded as a preposition.
The same is also true of the word nigh.
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Syn: Nigh; close; adjacent; proximate; contiguous; present;
ready; intimate; familiar; dear.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Near \Near\ (n[=e]r), adv. [AS. ne['a]r, compar. of ne['a]h
nigh. See Nigh.]
1. At a little distance, in place, time, manner, or degree;
not remote; nigh.
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My wife! my traitress! let her not come near me.
--Milton.
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2. Nearly; almost; well-nigh. "Near twenty years ago."
--Shak. "Near a fortnight ago." --Addison.
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Near about the yearly value of the land. --Locke.
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3. Closely; intimately. --Shak.
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Far and near, at a distance and close by; throughout a
whole region.
To come near to, to want but little of; to approximate to.
"Such a sum he found would go near to ruin him."
--Addison.
Near the wind (Naut.), close to the wind; closehauled.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Near \Near\, v. i.
To draw near; to approach.
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A speck, a mist, a shape, I wist!
And still it neared, and neared. --Coleridge.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Near \Near\, prep.
Adjacent to; close by; not far from; nigh; as, the ship
sailed near the land. See the Note under near, a.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Near \Near\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Neared; p. pr. & vb. n
Nearing.] [See Near, adv.]
To approach; to come nearer; as, the ship neared the land.
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