, 3Pte [gjR°n o O Pay close attention to what I am telling you.

                 SIMILAR fgfy 7 ~ (to sth) very similar to sth else or to an

amount   ; Jl ft- # Eft :     There’s a close resem­

blance (= they look very similar). 1£i&|B]ft0 His feeling for her was close to hatred. itk)ft#&fft[i§1#i!]:ft ft ill o 0 The total was close to 20% of the workforce. &

20% 0 o We tried to match the colours, but this is the closest we could get.        MftiAfid

Mi,

                 COMPETITION/ELECTION, ETC. ft; ft . & M 8 won by

only a small amount or distance ^AJ+flltAi/lEft; $.1IX :        a close contest/match/election XL A

oit

was a very close finish.    0

I think it’s going to be close.

ft B*J M '& o 0 Our team came a close second (= nearly won). M >((1 PA IA it Hi IE ® fOs %0 o The game was closer than the score suggests. Mfj  fa

Ulliilfto <> The result is going to be too close to call {= either side may win).

                 ALMOST BAD RESULT ft ft f ft ft fa^ 9 used t0 describe sth, usually a dangerous or unpleasant situ­ation, that nearly happens (

/Lftic^ )    P&lS". Phew! That was close—that

car nearly hit us. PH! ft$&\ 3P       l ft i: ffcif 1 * 0

We caught the bus in the end but it was close (= we nearly missed it).

4, fiWiWo

                 WITHOUT SPACE ft ft fa] 10 with little or no space in

betweenftltMftift; AftM;    'M^fa: over

1 000 pages of close print * 1 000 &M^fc$%Mfai%$l<nn 0 The soldiers advanced in close formation. ± ft ft If 3?

mmxmmo

                 CUT SHORT i'j in 11 cut very short, near to the skin fjM

ff IS Eft; MffiO&Mfa: a close haircut/shave

iftft£;

                 GUARDED 12 [only before noun] carefully guarded f* jJO Hr Eft; IL Z"2 Eft: The donor’s identity is a close secret, mmo She was kept under close arrest.

                 WEATHER/ROOM X ft; ft- I ft 13 warm in an uncomfort­able way because there does not seem to be enough fresh air ift**!-Eft; ftilMEft BQ3 stuffy

                 PRIVATE fL A 14 [not before noun] ~ (about sth) not willing to give personal information about yourself

( i d ftjftAlls ) ft P #P)fE: He was close about his past.            a iuMc

                 MEAN |r m 15 [not before noun] (BrE) not liking to spend

money ffm ; ft;ft:       She’s always been very close with

her money. 

                 PHONETICS iff ft V 16 (also high) (of a vowel ft ■#)

produced with the mouth in a relatively closed position 1*1 ^ ft Eft, 1*1 ift ( ) —compare

open(19) ► close-ly adv. : I sat and watched everyone

very closely (= carefully).    tAo o

He walked into the room, closely followed by the rest of the family.        &$JHA0 oa

closely contested election A IS £ ft Ufa ft & O She closely resembled her mother at the same age. jtffc-aftfe#

Mo O The two events are closely connected. M^^ft£lft'ftSi?iUEftl£^o closeness noun [U] liaai at/from .close 'quarters very near jgjJr; ## Hifi: fighting at close quarters close, but

no 'cigar (informal, especially NAmE) used to tell sb that their attempt or guess was almost but not quite successful    {M&JiiftT;

rfc)!'* a .close 'call/'shave (informal) a situation in which you only just manage to avoid an accident, etc.

a close 'thing a situation in which success or failure is equally possible

# ft:  We got him out in the end, but it was a close

thing. close

to home if a remark or topic of discussion is close to home, it is accurate or connected with you in a way that makes you uncomfortable or embarrassed ( feilf

( aMM; ) :

Her remarks about me were embarrassingly close to

home.        keep a close

eye/'watch on sb/sth to watch sb/sth carefully ffj iill;     Over the next few months we will keep

a close eye on sales.       Eft jlft/1

^1f     — more at heart

                 adv. (closer, closest) near; not far away i£i£;       %

They sat close together.

0 Don’t come too close!        O She held

Tom close and pressed her cheek to his. illilf Wo w, # 1C M W & ffe'W ± o OI couldn’t get close enough to see. & fc ^         ®f5, p # ?S %L 0 0 A second

police car followed close behind. % ffio rm dose at 'hand near; in a place where sb/sth can be reached easily |E pft i£ ; ft )IM -?• W H W Ife fo : There are good cafes and a restaurant close at hand, pft close 'by (sb/sth)

at a short distance (from sb/sth) ( ft?•• ;) ^jze; ftft^jzs /h;. ftifi^: Our friends live close by. 1M] j7t0 o The route passes close by the town.

close on | close to almost; nearly Jlf--, g i£;        She is close on sixty.        o It

is close on midnight. PtiSft-fto o a profit close to £200 million 2      a close run 'thing a situ­

ation in which sb only just wins or loses, for example in a competition or an election (

Jft, #Ki?6/h(KjJM close ’to | close 'up in a position very near to sth ft^gifi^h; ^gifiJft: The picture looks

very different when you see it close to. i&ilglifeEft    0 close up to sb/sth very near in space to

sb/sth ( ft$|Bj± )      She snuggled close up to

him.   come close (to sth/to doing

sth) to almost reach or do sth   ; H^F^: He’d

come close to death.      Mjl0 0 VVe didn’t

win but we came close. HMf] H T, jMiMRH 7SPft — /Js/SJLo run sb/sth 'dose (BrE) to be nearly as good, fast, successful, etc. as sb/sth else Xj ••• ^Fffi ± ft ; nj H M H :        Germany ran Argentina very close in the

final. ft'&&*,

more at card n., mark n., sail v.

                 noun 1 (Br£) (especially in street names     1^^)

a street that is closed at one end —   ; ft

® ffl ; ft # it:       Brookside Close ft # % M fa # 2 the

grounds and buildings that surround and belong to a

CATHEDRAL   MMMm%J&&&%>%)

dose-cropped /.klaus 'kmpt; NAmE .klous 'kraipt/ adj. (of hair, grass, etc. ^ % , ft Xf) cut very short M % fg

closed O^r /kleuzd; NAmEklouzd/ adj.

1 [not before noun] shut ^ |*3 ; if 1*3 :  Keep the door

closed,        BE0 2 [not before noun] shut, especially

of a shop/store or public building that is not open for a period of time ftft

Mt: The museum is closed on Mondays.

—1*1 tto O This road is closed to traffic.   M

ft 0 3 not willing to accept outside influences or new ideas m%fa;            a closed

society |*]^ g      0 He has a closed mind,

it ft 10 o 4 [usually before noun] limited to a particular group of people; not open to everyone K Pg ft1 ^ ® A W; jX>J^ffcA&?J;        a closed member-

shiP ^ A A Wi A ^ J® & ft E33 open o note at close1 iRTJI behind closed doors without the public being allowed to attend or know what is happening; in private    a closed 'book (to

sb) a subject or person that you know nothing about

A r«JA

.closed-'captioned adj. (NAmE) (of a TV programme @) having captions that can only be read if you have a special machine (= a decoder) |*1]i&ftftEft ( ffl

closed-,circuit television noun [u] (abbr. CCTV) a television system that works within a limited area, for example a public building, to protect it from crime

close-down /'kleuz daun; NAmE 'klouz/ noun [U, sing.] the stopping of work, especially permanently, in an office, a factory, etc. ( Xfe7%\fa )   ft] 1*1