/kləʊs; klos/
adj (-r, -st)
1 [pred 作表语] ~ (to sb/sth); ~ (together) near in space or time （在空间或时间上）接近
*This station is our closest, ie the nearest one to our home. 这个站离我们最近.
* The church is close to the school. 教堂离学校很近.
* The two buildings are close together. 这两座建筑物距离很近.
* The children are close to each other in age. 孩子们彼此的年龄很接近.
* Their birthdays are very close together. 他们的生日紧挨着.
2 (a) near in relationship 关系很近的
*a close relative 近亲.
(b) ~ (to sb) intimate; dear 亲近的; 亲密的
*a close friend 密友
* She is very close to her father/She and her father are very close. 她和父亲的关系很亲密.
3 to a high degree 高度的; 极度的
*in close proximity, ie almost touching 极为接近
* There's a close resemblance/similarity, ie They are very alike. 有极为相像[相似]之处.
4 with little or no space between; dense; compact 中间无空隙的; 浓缩的; 挤紧的
*material with a close texture 质地紧密的材料
* The soldiers advanced in close formation. 士兵排成密集队形前进.
5 (of a competition, game, etc) in which the competitors are almost equal （指竞赛、游戏等）参赛者几乎平手的, 势均力敌的, 棋逢对手的, 旗鼓相当的, 难分高下的
*a close contest, match, election, etc 势均力敌的竞赛、比赛、选举等
* a close finish 几乎平手的结局
* The game was closer than the score suggests. 实际的比赛与所得的分数相比更难分高下.
6 [attrib 作定语] careful; thorough; detailed 仔细的; 彻底的; 详细的
*On closer examination the painting proved to be a fake. 再经仔细观察, 证实那幅画是膺品.
* pay close attention to sth 密切关注（某事物）
* close reasoning, ie showing each step clearly 严谨的推理（把每一步骤都表示清楚）
* a close (ie exact) translation 紧扣原文的翻译（准确的）.
7 [attrib 作定语] strict; rigorous 严格的; 严厉的
*in close confinement 被严密监禁
* be (kept) under close arrest, ie carefully guarded 被严密拘禁（戒备森严）
* keep sth a close secret 对某事物严守秘密.
8 (a) (of the weather) humid; oppressive; heavy （指天气）潮湿的, 闷热的, 沉闷的
*It's very close and thundery today. 今天天气阴沉有雷.
(b) (of a room) without fresh air; stuffy （指房间）没有新鲜空气的, 不通气的
*a close atmosphere 窒闷的空气
* Open a window it's very close in here. 打开窗户吧--这里很闷气.
9 (phonetics 语音) (of vowels) pronounced with the tongue raised close to the roof of the mouth （指元音）闭塞音的（发音时将舌抬起接近上　）
*The English vowels/ i:/ and/ u:/ are close. 英语元音中的/ i:/和/u:/是闭元音.
10 [pred 作表语] secretive; reticent 遮遮掩掩; 沉默寡言
*be close about sth 对某事物守口如瓶.
11 [pred 作表语] mean; stingy 吝啬; 小气
*He's very close with his money. 他用钱很吝啬.
12 near to the surface; very short 离表面很近的; 很短的
*A new razor gives a close shave. 新刀片刮得很乾净.
13 (idm 习语) at ,close `quarters very near 非常近的
*fighting at close quarters 近战. a ,close `call (infml 口) almost an accident, a disaster or a failure 几乎造成事故、灾难或失败
*We didn't actually hit the other car, but it was a close call. 我们倒并未撞上那辆汽车, 可险些出了事. a ,close `shave situation in which one only just manages to escape an accident, a disaster, etc 勉强脱离危险、灾难等; 死里逃生; 九死一生. a close/near thing => thing. close to/near the bone => bone. close/dear/near to sb's heart => heart. close/near to home => home1. hold/keep one's cards close to one's chest => card1. keep a close `eye/`watch on sb/sth watch sb/sth carefully 密切注视某人[某事物]. keep/lie `close stay hidden; not show oneself 躲藏; 不露面
*He decided to lie close for a while. 他决定躲一躲.

/kləʊs; klos/
adv
1 leaving little space between; in a close position 中间无空隙地; 位置接近地
*They live quite close. 他们住得很近.
* hold sb close, ie embrace sb tightly 紧紧地拥抱某人
* follow close behind sb 紧跟在某人背後
* She stood close (up) against the wall. 她紧靠着墙站着.
2 (idm 习语) close `by (sb/sth) at a short distance (from sb/sth) 离（某人[某事物]）不远. close on almost; nearly 几乎; 差不多
*She is ,close on `sixty. 她接近六十岁了.
* It's ,close on `midnight. 已近午夜了. close up (to sb/sth) very near in space to sb/sth 离（某人[某事物]）很近
*She snuggled close up to him. 她紧紧地挨着他. run sb/sth `close be nearly as good, fast, successful, etc as sb/sth else 接近某人[某事物]那样好、快、成功等
*We run our competitors close for price and quality. 在价格和质量上, 我们差不多都赶上我们的竞争对手了. sail close/near to the wind => sail.

/kləʊs; klos/
n
1 (esp in street names 尤用于街道名称) street closed off at one end; cul-de-sac 一头不通的街道; 死巷; 死胡同
*Brookside Close 布鲁克赛德巷.
2 grounds and buildings surrounding and belonging to a cathedral, an abbey, etc （大教堂、寺院等的）周围的场地和建筑物.

/kləʊz; kloz/
v
1 [I, Tn] (cause sth to) move so as to cover an opening; shut （使某物）关, 闭
*The door closed quietly. 门轻轻地关上了.
* This box/The lid of this box doesn't close properly, ie The lid doesn't fit. 盒子[盒子的盖]盖不严.
* close a door, a window, the curtains, etc 关门、关窗户、拉上帘子
* If you close your eyes, you can't see anything. 若闭上眼睛, 那就什么都看不见了.
2 [I, Tn, Tn.pr] ~ sth (to sb/sth) be or declare sth to be not open 不开; 关闭某事物
*The shops close (ie stop trading) at 5.30. 商店5时30分关闭（停止营业）.
* Wednesday is early-`closing day, ie the day when the shops are not open in the afternoon. 星期三提早关门（该日商店下午不开门）.
* The theatres have closed for the summer. 戏院现已歇夏.
* The museum is closed (to visitors) on Sundays. 星期日博物馆（对参观者）不开放.
* This road is closed to motor vehicles. 这条路机动车不准通行.
3 [I, Ipr, Tn, Tn.pr] (cause sth to) come to an end （使某事物）终止
*The closing (ie last) day/date for applications is
1 May. 申请的截止日[日期]是5月1日.
* The speaker closed (the meeting) with a word of thanks to the chairman. 演讲者向主席道了谢, （会议）就结束了.
* As far as I am concerned the matter is closed, ie will not be discussed further. 对我来说, 事情已了结.
* Steel shares closed at 15, ie This was their value at the end of the day's business on the Stock Exchange. 钢铁股票收盘价为15英镑. =>Usage 见所附用法.
4 [I, Tn] (cause sth to) become smaller or narrower （使某物）变小或变窄
*The gap between the two runners is beginning to close, ie One runner is catching the other up. 两个赛跑者的差距开始缩短.
5 (idm 习语) a closed `book (to sb) subject about which one knows nothing 自己一无所知的科目
*Nuclear physics is a closed book to most of us. 我们大多数人对原子核物理学一窍不通. be,hind closed `doors without the public being allowed to attend; in private 不准公众旁听的; 秘密的
*The meeting was held behind closed doors. 会议秘密进行. close a `deal (with sb) agree to the terms of a business agreement 同意交易协定的条款; 成交. close one's `eyes to sth ignore sth 不理会某事物; 视而不见; 熟视无睹
*The Government seems to be closing its eyes to the plight of the unemployed. 政府似乎对失业者的困境熟视无睹. close one's `mind to sth be unwilling to think about sth seriously 不愿认真思考某事物; 拒不考虑某事物. close (the/one's) `ranks
(a) (of soldiers) come closer together in a line or lines （指士兵）排紧, 列队靠拢.
(b) (of members of a group) forget disagreements and unite in order to protect or defend common interests （指团体中的成员）求同存异, 团结一致保卫或捍卫共同利益
*In times of crisis party members should close ranks. 在紧要关头, 党员应该团结起来. shut/close one's eyes to sth => eye1. with one's eyes shut/closed => eye1.
6 (phr v) close around/round/over sb/sth surround and enclose or grip sb/sth 围住并包围或钳制某人[某事物]
*His hand closed over the money. 他手中紧握着钱.
* She felt his arms close tightly around her. 她觉得他把她搂得很紧.

NOTE ON USAGE 用法
*Generally, close means the same as shut and is more formal *close通常与shut的意思相同, 但较庄重
*Shut/Close the door! 把门关上!
* The box won't shut/close. 这个盒子关不上. When referring to the opening hours of public places, both shut and close are used 指公众场所的开放或营业时间时, 用shut和close均可
*Shops/Offices shut/close at 5.30. 商店[办事处]5点30分停止营业[办公]. Note closed in the following example 注意以下例句中要用 closed
*Museums are closed to the public on Mondays. 博物馆每逢星期一闭馆. Close can mean `terminate' and `make smaller' *close可意为｀终止＇和｀使更小＇
*The meeting was closed after the demonstrators interrupted it. 会议遭示威者干扰而结束.
* Some politicians aim at closing the gap between rich and poor. 有些政治家的奋斗目标在于缩小贫富的差距. It is also used of roads, railways, etc 这个词还可用于街道、公路、铁路等
*They've closed the road because of an accident. 这条路因发生事故而被封闭. Lock means to close a door, box, suitcase, etc and fasten it with a lock and key. *lock意为把门、盒子、箱子等关上, 再用锁（和钥匙）锁上.

/kləʊz; kloz/
n [sing]
1 end of a period of time or an activity （一段时间或一活动的）终结, 结束, 末尾
*at the close of the day 在黄昏时候
* towards the close of the 17th century 将近17世纪末叶
* The day had reached its close. 天已黑了.
* at close of play, ie at the end of the day's play in a cricket match 当天在板球比赛结束的时候.
2 (idm 习语) bring sth/come/draw to a `close end or conclude sth 结束某事物
*The ceremony was brought to a close by the singing of the national anthem. 典礼在国歌的歌声中结束.