close-up

/ˈkləʊsʌp/

//ˈkləʊsʌp// adj

"close-up" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“close-up” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
8
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - In near proximity.

Corpus desk

Index EN-close-up · close-up · English

close-up · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "C" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for close-up
PropertyValue
Headwordclose-up
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈkləʊsʌp/
Letters8
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “close-up” in English

close-upfalls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

close-up is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ˈkləʊsʌp/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "In near proximity.".

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for close-up, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct English form is close-up, spelled C-L-O-S-E---U-P.

Definition

  1. 1
    In near proximity.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how close-up appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. A worldwide TV audience had a close-up view of the astronauts when they splashed down and as they emerged from the bobbing spaceship they call Gumdrop.

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "close-up"?
"close-up" is spelled C-L-O-S-E---U-P. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈkləʊsʌp/.
What does "close-up" mean?
As an adjective, "close-up" means: In near proximity.
How do you pronounce "close-up"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "close-up" is /ˈkləʊsʌp/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "close-up" come from?
"close-up" is a English word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list