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Nearest vs Nearby - What's the difference?

nearest | nearby |

As adjectives the difference between nearest and nearby

is that nearest is closest to, superlative of near while nearby is adjacent, near, very close.

As a preposition nearest

is closest to.

As an adverb nearby is

next to, close to.

nearest

English

Adjective

(head)
  • Closest to, (near).
  • * 1843 , (Edgar Allan Poe), :
    • Fastening one end of this at that point of the trunk of the tree which was nearest the peg, he unrolled it till it reached the peg and thence further unrolled it, in the direction already established by the two points of the tree and the peg, for the distance of fifty feet

    Preposition

    (English prepositions)
  • closest to

    • Anagrams

    * * * *

    nearby

    English

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • adjacent, near, very close
    • He stopped at a nearby store for some groceries.

    Adverb

    (en adverb)
  • next to, close to
    • I'm glad my friends live nearby where I can visit them.

    Usage notes

    Some British writers make the distinction between the adverbial near by'', which is written as two words; and the adjectival ''nearby , which is written as one. In American English, the one-word spelling is standard for both forms.

    Anagrams

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