near /ˈnɪr/
 (a.)近的,近親的,近似的(ad.)接近,親近,節儉靠近,近乎(vt.)(vi.)接近,走近
 near
 近
 Near adv.
 1. At a little distance, in place, time, manner, or degree; not remote; nigh.
    My wife! my traitress! let her not come near me.   --Milton.
 2. Nearly; almost; well-nigh. “Near twenty years ago.” --Shak. “Near a fortnight ago.”
    Near about the yearly value of the land.   --Locke.
 3. Closely; intimately.
 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.”
 Near the wind Naut., close to the wind; closehauled.
 Near a. [Compar. Nearer superl. Nearest.]
 1. Not far distant in time, place, or degree; not remote; close at hand; adjacent; neighboring; nigh. “As one near death.”
 He served great Hector, and was ever near,
 Not with his trumpet only, but his spear.   --Dryden.
 2. Closely connected or related.
    She is thy father's near kinswoman.   --Lev. xviii. 12.
 3. Close to one's interests, affection, etc.; touching, or affecting intimately; intimate; dear; as, a near friend.
 4. Close to anything followed or imitated; not free, loose, or rambling; as, a version near to the original.
 5. So as barely to avoid or pass injury or loss; close; narrow3; as, a near escape; a near miss.
 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.
 7. Immediate; direct; close; short. “The nearest way.”
 8. Close-fisted; parsimonious. [Obs. or Low, Eng.]
 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.
 Syn: -- Nigh; close; adjacent; proximate; contiguous; present; ready; intimate; familiar; dear.
 Near, prep. Adjacent to; close by; not far from; nigh; as, the ship sailed near the land. See the Note under near, a.
 Near, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Neared p. pr. & vb. n Nearing.]  To approach; to come nearer; as, the ship neared the land.
 Near, v. i. To draw near; to approach.
 A speck, a mist, a shape, I wist!
 And still it neared, and neared.   --Coleridge.
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 near
      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: close] [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,
          penny-pinching]
      5: with or in a close or intimate relationship; "a good
         friend"; "my sisters and brothers are near and dear" [syn:
          dear, good]
      6: very close in resemblance; "sketched in an approximate
         likeness"; "a near likeness" [syn: approximate]
      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: nigh, close]
      2: (of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite
         accomplished; `near' is sometimes used informally for
         `nearly' and `most' is sometimes used informally for
         `almost'; "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, just about, almost, most,
          all but, nearly, nigh, virtually, well-nigh]
      v : move towards; "We were approaching our destination"; "They
          are drawing near"; "The enemy army came nearer and
          nearer" [syn: approach, come on, go up, draw near,
           draw close, come near]