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]