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PlainSpell

near

UK /nɪə/adjective, adverb, preposition, verb, noun

near is spelled N-E-A-R: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 195 times per million words in written English, the 516th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, near means “Physically close” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in near?

Letters4: N-E-A-R
Syllables1 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing195 times per million words; the 516th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Rhymes with
Same letters

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is near?

Near appears 195 times per million words in written English, the 516th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce near?

  • UK /nɪə/
  • UK [nɪə̯]
  • British /nɪː/

Near has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-uk-near.ogg, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Back_ache-near.wav, En-us-near.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

What rhymes with near?

The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as near from its last stressed vowel (/ɪə/, British pronunciation):

Spelled with the same letters in another order: earn, nare, rean.

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of near

  • nearer comparative
  • nearest superlative
  • nears present, singular, he/she/it, plural
  • nearing participle, present
  • neared participle, past
  • neer
  • niere
  • neire

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does near mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

adjective

  1. 1

    Physically close.

    I can't see near objects very clearly without my glasses.

  2. 2

    Close in time.

    The end is near.

  3. 3

    Closely connected or related.

    The deceased man had no near relatives.

  4. 4

    Close to one's interests, affection, etc.; intimate; dear.

    It is a matter of near consequence to me.

  5. 5

    Close to anything followed or imitated; not free, loose, or rambling.

    a version near to the original

  6. 6

    So as barely to avoid or pass injury or loss; close; narrow.

    a near escape

  7. 7

    Approximate, almost.

    The two words are near synonyms.

  8. 8

    UKOn the side nearest to the kerb (the left-hand side if one drives on the left).

    The near front wheel came loose.

adverb

  1. 1

    At or towards a position close in space or time.

  2. 2

    Nearly; almost.

    He was near unconscious when I found him.

preposition

  1. 1

    Physically close to, in close proximity to.

    There are habitable planets orbiting many of the stars near our Sun.

  2. 2

    Close to in time.

    The voyage was near completion.

  3. 3

    Close to in nature or degree.

    His opinions are near the limit of what is acceptable.

verb

  1. 1

    To come closer to; to approach.

    The ship nears the land.

noun

  1. 1

    The left side of a horse or of a team of horses pulling a carriage etc.

  2. 2

    rareKidney.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

How do you abbreviate near?

Wiktionary records one abbreviation of near: nr.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Near in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchprès, proche (physically close), près de (in close proximity to), approcher (come closer to)
Germannah (physically close), neben (in close proximity to), sich nähern (come closer to)
Portugueseperto, próximo (physically close), perto de, próximo de (in close proximity to), aproximar (come closer to)
Spanishcercano, allegado, propincuo (physically close), cerca de (in close proximity to), aproximar (come closer to), cerca (at or towards a position close in space or time)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does near come from?

From Middle English nere, ner, from Old English nēar (“nearer”, comparative of nēah (“nigh”), the superlative would become next), influenced by Old Norse nær (“near”), both originating from Proto-Germanic *nēhwiz (“nearer”), comparative of the adverb *nēhw (“near”), from the adjective *nēhwaz, ultimately from Pre-Proto-Germanic *h₂nḗḱwos, a lengthened-grade adjective derived from Proto-Indo-European *h₂neḱ- (“to reach”).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after near