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. [ 1913 Webster ]

From a close bower this dainty music flowed. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Narrow; confined; as, a close alley; close quarters. “A close prison.” Dickens. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Oppressive; without motion or ventilation; causing a feeling of lassitude; -- said of the air, weather, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Strictly confined; carefully quarded; as, a close prisoner. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. Out of the way observation; secluded; secret; hidden. “He yet kept himself close because of Saul.” 1 Chron. xii. 1 [ 1913 Webster ]

“Her close intent.” Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. Disposed to keep secrets; secretive; reticent. “For secrecy, no lady closer.” Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

7. Having the parts near each other; dense; solid; compact; as applied to bodies; viscous; tenacious; not volatile, as applied to liquids. [ 1913 Webster ]

The golden globe being put into a press, . . . the water made itself way through the pores of that very close metal. Locke. [ 1913 Webster ]

8. Concise; to the point; as, close reasoning. “Where the original is close no version can reach it in the same compass.” Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

9. Adjoining; near; either in space; time, or thought; -- often followed by to. [ 1913 Webster ]

Plant the spring crocuses close to a wall. Mortimer. [ 1913 Webster ]

The thought of the Man of sorrows seemed a very close thing -- not a faint hearsay. G. Eliot. [ 1913 Webster ]

10. Short; as, to cut grass or hair close. [ 1913 Webster ]

11. Intimate; familiar; confidential. [ 1913 Webster ]

League with you I seek
And mutual amity, so strait, so close,
That I with you must dwell, or you with me. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

12. Nearly equal; almost evenly balanced; as, a close vote. “A close contest.” Prescott. [ 1913 Webster ]

13. Difficult to obtain; as, money is close. Bartlett. [ 1913 Webster ]

14. Parsimonious; stingy. “A crusty old fellow, as close as a vise.” Hawthorne. [ 1913 Webster ]

15. Adhering strictly to a standard or original; exact; strict; as, a close translation. Locke. [ 1913 Webster ]

16. Accurate; careful; precise; also, attentive; undeviating; strict; not wandering; as, a close observer. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]