close

Everyday

1. To close is to shut, like a door, a book or your eyes. tree →
2. To close is also to stop being open for people, like a shop closing at night. tree →
3. Close (said «klohs») means near. tree →
4. Close friends are very good friends. tree →
5. A close game is one where the scores are nearly the same. tree →

In the lessons

maths: a closing time (an end time), or nearness, or rounding to the nearest number («close to 50» means about 50); estimation; everyday life: shops close, close the door, close your eyes; science: close up with a magnifying glass; stories: a close friend, a close escape; phrases: «close to», «close by», «up close», «close call»

Examples

• The store closes at 9:00. tree →
• Which number is closest to 50? tree →
• The park is close to school. tree →
• The library is closed on Sunday. tree →
• Please close the window, it is cold. tree →
• Close your eyes and count to ten. tree →
• Stand close to me in the crowd. tree →
• It was a close game: 3 to 2. tree →
• She is my close friend. tree →
• Close behind him some one followed. tree →

Note

«closes at» gives an end time; «close to» means near or about. Trap: the same word has two meanings and two sounds: «kloz» (shut) and «klohs» (near). Time open = closing time − opening time.

In Jewish tradition

Here it mostly means near or tight. "Close-bound" means tied shut, and "close by" means right next to. In Job it means tightly sealed, and "close places" means hiding places.

Interpretation. The law says an open jar with no tight cover becomes unclean when a person has died in the tent. The tradition reads this as showing how uncleanness spreads and how a sealed vessel is protected.

Examples

• And every open vessel, which hath no covering close-bound upon it, is unclean. (Torah NUM.19.15, JPS 1917) tree →
• Close by the border were the rings, the holders for the staves to bear the table. (Torah EXO.37.14, JPS 1917) tree →
• Close by the border shall the rings be, for places for the staves to bear the table. (Torah EXO.25.27, JPS 1917) tree →
• His scales are his pride, shut up together as with a close seal. (Writings JOB.41.7, JPS 1917) tree →
• The sons of the stranger fade away, and come halting out of their close places. (Prophets 2SA.22.46, JPS 1917) tree →
• The sons of the stranger fade away, and come trembling out of their close places. (Writings PSA.18.46, JPS 1917) tree →

Note

«closes at» gives an end time; «close to» means near or about. Trap: the same word has two meanings and two sounds: «kloz» (shut) and «klohs» (near). Time open = closing time − opening time.