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8 definitions found From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Close \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. From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Close \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. From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Close \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. From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Close \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. From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Close \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. From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: 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. From WordNet r 1.6 [wn]: close adj 1: at or within a short distance in space or time or having elements near each other "close to noon"; "how close are we to town?"; "a close formation of ships" [ant: {distant}] 2: close in relevance or relationship; "a close family"; "we are all...in close sympathy with..."; "close kin"; "a close resemblance" [ant: {distant}] 3: 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}] [ant: {far}] 4: rigorously attentive; strict and thorough; "close supervision"; "paid close attention"; "a close study"; "kept a close watch on expenditures" 5: marked by fidelity to an original; "a close translation"; "a faithful copy of the portrait"; "a faithful rendering of the observed facts" [syn: {faithful}] 6: (of a contest or contestants) evenly matched; "a close contest"; "a close election"; "a tight game" [syn: {tight}] 7: crowded; "close quarters" [syn: {confining}] 8: lacking fresh air; "a dusty airless attic"; "the dreadfully close atmosphere"; "hot and stuffy and the air was blue with smoke" [syn: {airless}, {stuffy}, {unaired}] 9: of textiles; "a close weave"; "smooth percale with a very tight weave" [syn: {tight}] 10: strictly confined or guarded; "kept under close custody" 11: confined to specific persons; "a close secret" 12: fitting closely but comfortably; "a close fit" [syn: {snug}, {close-fitting}] 13: used of hair or haircuts; "a close military haircut" 14: giving or spending with reluctance; "our cheeseparing administration"; "very close (or near) with his money"; "a penny-pinching miserly old man" [syn: {cheeseparing}, {near}, {penny-pinching}] 15: inclined to secrecy or reticence about divulging information; "although they knew her whereabouts her friends kept close about it" [syn: {closelipped}, {closemouthed}, {secretive}, {tightlipped}] n 1: the concluding time; "he awaited the grand finale"; "he stayed until the finish"; "he left before the conclusion" [syn: {stopping point}, {finale}, {finis}, {finish}, {last}, {terminus}, {conclusion}] 2: the ending of a contest (as a race); "it was an exciting finish"; "I didn't stay for the close of the tournament" [syn: {finish}] 3: the last section of a communication; "in conclusion I want to say..." [syn: {conclusion}, {end}, {closing}, {ending}] 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}] 2: in an attentive manner; "he remained close on his guard" [syn: {closely}, {tight}] v 1: cease to operate or cause to cease operating; "The owners decided to move and to close the factory"; "My business closes every night at 8 P.M. [syn: {fold}, {shut down}, {close down}] [ant: {open}] 2: complete a business deal negociation, or an agreement; "We closed on the house on Friday"; "They closed the deal on the building" 3: move so that an opening or passage is obstructed; make shut; "Close the door"; "shut the window" [syn: {shut}] [ant: {open}] 4: bar access to "Due to the accident, the road had to be closed for several hours" 5: finish or terminate; of meetings, speeches, etc "The meeting was closed with a charge by the chairman of the board" [ant: {open}] 6: draw near: "The probe closed with the space station" 7: become closed; "The windows closed with a loud bang" [syn: {shut}] [ant: {open}] 8: come to a close "The concert closed with a nocturne by Chopin" 9: come together, as if in an embrace; "Her arms closed around her long lost relative" [syn: {come together}] 10: unite or bring into contact or bring together the edges of "close the circuit"; "close a wound" 11: bring together all the elements or parts of: "Management closed ranks" 12: engage at close quarters; "close with the enemy" 13: cause a window or an application to disappear on a computer desktop [ant: {open}] 14: fill or stop up "Can you close the cracks with caulking?" [syn: {fill}, {fill up}] From THE DEVIL'S DICTIONARY ((C)1911 Released April 15 1993) [devils]: CLOSE-:FISTED:, adj Unduly desirous of keeping that which many meritorious persons wish to obtain. "Close-fisted Scotchman!" Johnson cried To thrifty J. Macpherson; "See me -- I'm ready to divide With any worthy person." Sad Jamie: "That is very true -- The boast requires no backing; And all are worthy, sir, to you Who have what you are lacking." Anita M. Bobe
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