Did you know?

Click any word in a definition or example to find the entry for that word

close - thesaurus entry

Close

What are red words?

90% of the time, speakers of English use just 7,500 words in speech and writing. These words appear in red, and are graded with stars. One-star words are frequent, two-star words are more frequent, and three-star words are the most frequent.

verb
  1. 1
    if you close something, or if it closes, it moves to cover an open area

    *American English synonyms or related words for this sense of close*

    1. a.
      to move together the parts of something that was spread to its full size

      *American English synonyms or related words for this sense of close*

  2. 5

    close

    or

    close down

    if a computer program closes, or if you close it, it stops operating and disappears from your computer screen

    *American English synonyms or related words for this sense of close*

  3. 6

    close

    or

    close up

    to reduce the distance or difference between people or things

    *American English synonyms or related words for this sense of close*

  4. 7
    to stop having an account with a bank, store, etc.

    *American English synonyms or related words for this sense of close*

phrases

vocal fry

a speech habit in which a speaker lowers their voice at the end of a sentence

BuzzWord Article

Word of the Day Word of the Day

dray

a type of cart pulled by a horse and used in the past for carrying barrels of beer

Open Dictionary

conflict mineral

a mineral which is mined in a place where there is armed conflict, and sold to help pay for weapons

add a word

Blog

A must for anyone with an interest in the changing face of language. The Macmillan Dictionary blog explores English as it is spoken around the world today.

global English and language change from our blog