Closest

Close Close (kl[=o]s), a. [Compar. {Closer} (kl[=o]"s[~e]r); 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]