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.

Close (? or ?), 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.

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 secrecy, 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 Lords 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."

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. Spenser.

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 oclock."

3. To grapple; to engage 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.

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's unabridged 1913