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.
© Webster 1913.
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 engange 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.
© Webster 1913.
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.
© Webster 1913.
Close (? ∨ ?), 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.
© Webster 1913.
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.
© Webster 1913.
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.
© Webster 1913. | 
