Approach vs Close - What's the difference?

As verbs the difference between approach and close

is that approach is to come or go near, in place or time; to draw nigh; to advance nearer while close is to remove a gap.

As nouns the difference between approach and close

is that approach is the act of drawing near; a coming or advancing near while close is an end or conclusion.

As an adjective close is

closed, shut.

approach

English

Verb

(es)

To come or go near, in place or time; to draw nigh; to advance nearer.

* 1769 , Oxford Standard text, , xi, 20,

And if so be that the king's wrath arise, and he say unto thee, Wherefore approached ye so nigh unto the city when ye did fight? knew ye not that they would shoot from the wall?

* 1769 , Oxford Standard text, , x, 25,

Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching .

(figuratively) To draw near, in a figurative sense; to make advances; to approximate.

as he approaches to the character of the ablest statesman.

* 1839 , , A Tour in Sweden in 1838 , page 371,

Without these incentives to industry the Norwegian would be like the Laplander, without industry and civilisation ; and the nearer he approaches' to the ''beau idéal'' of those political economists — to the state of being without a taste for these foreign and expensive luxuries — the nearer he ' approaches to the condition of the Laplander in the comforts and enjoyments of life.

* 1898 , , The Works , Volume 11, 2006, Elibron Classics Replica Edition, page 205,

In this respect, the only books which approach to its excellence are Gulliver's Travels and Robinson Crusoe.

To come near to in place, time, character or value; to draw nearer to.

He was an admirable poet, and thought even to have approached Homer. -- .

"Would counsel please approach the bench?" asked the judge.

to approach the city

He approached the age of manhood.

Don't approach that house.

* 1831 , , Volume 1, The American Redstart,

When one approaches the nest of this species, the male exhibits the greatest anxiety respecting its safety, passes and repasses, fluttering and snapping its bill within a few feet, as if determined to repel the intruder.

* 1867 , , Chapter 53: And Last,

Removing with him and the old housekeeper to within a mile of the parsonage-house, where his dear friends resided, he gratified the only remaining wish of Oliver's warm and earnest heart, and thus linked together a little society, whose condition approached as nearly to one of perfect happiness as can ever be known in this changing world.

* 1898 , , Book 1, Chapter 1: The Eve of the War,

Its physical condition is still largely a mystery, but we know now that even in its equatorial region the midday temperature barely approaches that of our coldest winter.

* 1911 [1904], , Chapter III,

If a variable $v$ takes on successively a series of values that approach' nearer and nearer to a constant value $l$ in such a manner that $, v - l,$ ^{[To be read ''the numerical value of the difference between'' $v$ ''and'' $l$ ]} becomes and remains less than any assigned arbitrarily small positive quantity, then $v$ is said to '''''approach the limit'' $l$ , or to ''converge to the limit $l$ . Symbolically this is written

*:: limit $v = l$ , or, $v \dot= l$ .

*::: Usage note: In discussing convergence in mathematical analysis, modern rigorous formulations avoid using the terms approach'' and ''converge . These terms may, however, serve as a form of handwave when rigour is not required.

To make an attempt at (solving a problem or making a policy).

* 1922 , , Chapter II,

And it was with decision that he approached the problem of his wrecked shop.

To speak to, as to make a request or ask a question.

* 1988 Dinesh Vaghela, Publisher's Note'', in , Dinesh Publications, [http://www.well.com/user/jct/],

"Why bother publishing my conversations. It has not helped you, and it is not going to help anybody else", said U.G. when I approached him with the idea of publishing excerpts from his conversations with the constant stream of people who go to visit him.

(military) To take approaches to.

To bring near; to cause to draw near.

(Boyle)

Noun

(es)

The act of drawing near; a coming or advancing near.

* 1811 , , Sermons , Volume 1, page 10,

The approach of summer, says our Lord, is not more surely indicated by the first appearances of spring, than the final destruction of the wicked by the beginnings of vengeance on this impenitent people.

* 1859 , , On the Classification and Geographical Distribution of the Mammalia , page 85,

The canine, judging from the figures published by M. Lartet¹ seems to be less developed than in the male chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans[,] [i]n which character the fossil, if it belonged to a male, makes a nearer approach to the human type ; but it is one which many of the inferior monkeys also exhibit, and is by no means to be trusted as significant of true affinity, supposing even the sex of the fossil to be known as being male.

An access, or opportunity of drawing near.

* 1625 (date from Markby), , Of Ambition'', reprinted in 1856, Thomas Markby (editor), ''The Essays; or, Counsels Civil and Moral with A table of the Colours of Good and Evil , page 84,

Honor hath three things in it: the vantage ground to do good; the approach to kings and principal persons; and the raising of a man's own fortunes.

Movements to gain favor; advances.

A way, passage, or avenue by which a place or buildings can be approached; an access.

* 1900 , ,

It was, therefore, natural to expect that the main attack would come from the north along the railroad, and from the east, where the approach from the Transvaal boundary, which is there marked by the Buffalo River, is over a country much more practicable than the western mountain range.

A manner in which a problem is solved or policy is made.

* 1787 , , Annotations to Article 1, Section 1,

The functional approach' emphasizes the core functions of each branch and asks whether the challenged action threatens the essential attributes of the legislative, executive, or judicial function or functions. Under this ' approach , there is considerable flexibility in the moving branch, usually Congress acting to make structural or institutional change, if there is little significant risk of impairment of a core function or in the case of such a risk if there is a compelling reason for the action.

* 1980 , , Final Decision, IV: Comments,

Our proposed definitional approach to the data processing-communications dilemma evoked considerable discussion.

* 1980 , , Opinion of the Court,

Its [the EPA's] initial approach to controlling the amount of lead in the ambient air was to limit lead emissions from automobiles by restricting the amount of lead in gasoline.

* 1991', Carol Lee Johnston, Jeanne Lazaris, ''Plane Trigonometry, A New '''Approach .

(used only in the plural, fortification) The advanced works, trenches, or covered roads made by besiegers in their advances toward a fortress or military post.

(golf, tennis) An approach shot.

The way an aircraft lands at an airport.

* 2007 , , Glider Flying Handbook , page 2-9,

Most small airplanes maintain a speed well in excess of 1.3 times V_SO on an instrument approach'. An airplane with a stall speed of 50 knots (V_SO) has a normal ' approach speed of 65 knots.

(bowling) The area before the lane, in which a player may stand or run up before bowling the ball.

References

close

English

Etymology 1

From (etyl) .

Verb

(clos)

(label) To remove a gap.

# To obstruct (an opening).

# To move so that an opening is closed.

#* (Lord Byron) (1788-1824)

What deep wounds ever closed without a scar?

#*:If I close my eyes I can see Marie today as I saw her then. Round, rosy face, snub nose, dark hair piled up in a chignon.

# To make (e.g. a gap) smaller.

# To grapple; to engage in close combat.

#* (1796-1859)

They boldly closed in a hand-to-hand contest.

(label) To finish, to terminate.

# To put an end to; to conclude; to complete; to finish; to consummate.

#* (John Dryden) (1631-1700)

One frugal supper did our studies close .

# To come to an end.

# (label) To make a sale.

# To make the final outs, usually three, of a game.

# To terminate an application, window, file or database connection, etc.

To come or gather around; to enclose; to encompass; to confine.

* Bible, (w) ii. 5

The depth closed me round about.

* (George Herbert) (1593-1633)

But now Thou dost Thyself immure and close / In some one corner of a feeble heart; / Where yet both Sinne and Satan, Thy old foes, / Do pinch and straiten Thee, and use much art / To gain Thy thirds' and little part.

(label) To have a vector sum of 0; that is, to form a closed polygon.

Synonyms

* close off, close up, cover, shut, shut off * shut * (put an end to) end, finish, terminate, wind up, close down * narrow * (terminate a computer program) close out, exit

Antonyms

* open * open * (put an end to) begin, commence, initiate, start * extend, widen * (terminate a computer program) open, start

Derived terms

* autoclosing * case closed * close down * close in * close off * close one's eyes * close out * close ranks * close the door on * close the face * close up *

Noun

(en noun)

An end or conclusion.

We owe them our thanks for bringing the project to a successful close .

* Macaulay

His long and troubled life was drawing to a close .

The manner of shutting; the union of parts; junction.

* Chapman

The doors of plank were; their close exquisite.

A grapple in wrestling.

(Francis Bacon)

(music) The conclusion of a strain of music; cadence.

* Dryden

At every close she made, the attending throng / Replied, and bore the burden of the song.

(music) A double bar marking the end.

Synonyms

* (end) end, finale

Antonyms

* (end) beginning, start

Etymology 2

From (etyl) clos, from (etyl) clausum, participle of (m).

Adjective

(er)

Closed, shut.

* 1526 , William Tyndale, trans. Bible , Matthew chapter 8:

There is nothinge so close , that shall not be openned, and nothinge so hyd that shall not be knowen.

* Dryden

From a close bower this dainty music flowed.

Narrow; confined.

a close''' alley; '''close quarters

* Charles Dickens

a close prison

At a little distance; near.

* , chapter=7

, title= The Mirror and the Lamp , passage=[…] St.?Bede's at this period of its history was perhaps the poorest and most miserable parish in the East End of London. Close -packed, crushed by the buttressed height of the railway viaduct, rendered airless by huge walls of factories, it at once banished lively interest from a stranger's mind and left only a dull oppression of the spirit.}}

* {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-01, volume=407, issue=8838, page=71, magazine=(The Economist)

, title= End of the peer show , passage=Finance is seldom romantic. But the idea of peer-to-peer lending comes close . This is an industry that brings together individual savers and lenders on online platforms. Those that want to borrow are matched with those that want to lend.}}

Intimate; well-loved.

# (legal) Of a corporation or other business entity, closely held.

Oppressive; without motion or ventilation; causing a feeling of lassitude.

* Francis Bacon

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.

Hot, humid, with no wind.

(linguistics, phonetics, of a vowel) Articulated with the tongue body relatively close to the hard palate.

Strictly confined; carefully guarded.

a close prisoner

(obsolete) Out of the way of observation; secluded; secret; hidden.

* Bible, 1 Chron. xii. 1

He yet kept himself close because of Saul.

* Spenser

her close intent

Nearly equal; almost evenly balanced.

a close contest

Short.

to cut grass or hair close

(archaic) Dense; solid; compact.

* John Locke

The golden globe being put into a press, the water made itself way through the pores of that very close metal.

(archaic) Concise; to the point.

close reasoning

* Dryden

Where the original is close no version can reach it in the same compass.

(dated) Difficult to obtain.

Money is close .

(Bartlett)

(dated) Parsimonious; stingy.

* Hawthorne

a crusty old fellow, as close as a vice

Adhering strictly to a standard or original; exact.

a close translation

(John Locke)

Accurate; careful; precise; also, attentive; undeviating; strict.

The patient was kept under close observation.

Synonyms

* (at a little distance) close by, near, nearby * (intimate) intimate * muggy, oppressive * (articulated with the tongue body relatively close to the hard palate) high

Antonyms

* (at a little distance) distant, far, far away, far off, remote * (intimate) aloof, cool, distant * (articulated with the tongue body relatively close to the hard palate) open

Derived terms

* close call * closely * closeness * close shave * close-up * thisclose

Noun

(en noun)

An enclosed field.

(British) A street that ends in a dead end.

(Scotland) A very narrow alley between two buildings, often overhung by one of the buildings above the ground floor.

(Scotland) The common staircase in a tenement.

A cathedral close.

* Macaulay

closes surrounded by the venerable abodes of deans and canons.

(legal) The interest which one may have in a piece of ground, even though it is not enclosed.

(Bouvier)

Synonyms

* (street) cul-de-sac

Statistics

Anagrams

* English ergative verbs English heteronyms 1000 English basic words ----