close to

\ˈkloʊs tu\

/\ˈkloʊs tu\/ prep

The verdict

“close to” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as a preposition. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
8
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Près de.

Corpus desk

Index FR-close-to · close to · French

close to · 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

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 to
PropertyValue
Headwordclose to
LanguageFrench
Part of speechPreposition
IPA\ˈkloʊs tu\
Letters8
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « close to » en français

close toreste hors des 100.000 mots français les plus fréquents, dans la longue queue du vocabulaire technique, archaïque ou rare, là où le doute d'orthographe frappe.

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

Rare enough to double-check

close to is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as apreposition, transcribed \ˈkloʊs tu\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Près de.".

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for close to, a sign its spelling follows regular French conventions. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct French form is close to, spelled C-L-O-S-E- -T-O.

Definition

  1. 1
    Près de.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. I feel very close to him.
  2. Don’t get too close to the edge of the cliff.

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 to"?
"close to" is spelled C-L-O-S-E- -T-O. The IPA pronunciation is \ˈkloʊs tu\.
What does "close to" mean?
As a preposition, "close to" means: Près de.
How do you pronounce "close to"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "close to" is \ˈkloʊs tu\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "close to" come from?
"close to" is a French word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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