Englishfor English speakers
close
Verb
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If you close something, you change it from being open to not open.
She watched TV for a while, and then closed her eyes.
He left the room and softly closed the door behind him.
He opened his mouth and closed it again without saying anything.
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If something closes, it goes out of business for a short time or permanently.
The supermarket closes at 5 o'clock on Saturday.
Sadly, we have decided to close the shop.
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If the distance or time between two different things closes, they get closer together.
The government will use the $15 million to close a budget gap.
With only three games left in the season, Milan is closing in on Hamburg.
The storm was closing in, and she wanted to get home.
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If something closes, it ends.
The book closes with the man alone in the house where he started.
I'd like to close this talk by asking for your help.
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If a stock, bond, or currency closes at a certain price, it is at the price at the end of the trading day.
The EAP Emerging Growth Fund lost half a dollar, closing at just over $38.
Again today, cigarette company stocks closed up.
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If you close a deal/sale/contract, both people make a final agreement.
It took five months, many phone calls, and an extra $89,000 to close the deal.
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If you close up, you stop talking about something.
Every time I asked about the cost everybody would close right up.
close
Adjective
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When two things are close, they are near each other; the distance or time between them is small.
The bank is close to the store.
I walk to my university because it is very close.
It's close to nine o'clock.
Closer to the end, I'll come and get you.
Put it close to the door.
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If two people are close, they have a good relationship, like friends, family or lovers.
She was quite close to her dad before he died.
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If a game or contest is close, you can't easily see which side is better.
The race has been very close up until now.
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If two things are close, they are similar.
This is the closest thing I could find to that colour.
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Close range/contact/ties etc. is near, not far.
They tell us the gun was fired at close range.
Most Norwegians live in close contact with the wilderness, the sea, the mountains, or the forests.
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A close look or close attention means you pay careful attention.
Keep a close eye on the money.
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In a close game/race/competition, etc., the difference between the scores/times/abilities, etc is small.
One or two points can win or lose a close race .
The winner earned 13.8 percent of the vote, but she was a close second (13.5 percent).
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If something was close, something bad/dangerous/embarrassing, etc. almost happened.
Wow, that was close. She almost saw us.
Thirty years ago this week, our country had a very close call.
close
Noun
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The close of something is the end.
I will be surprised if the company is still running by close of business tomorrow.
The book was written around the close of the 14th century.
As our first week came to a close, we were getting very tired.
close
Adverb
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If you are close to something, you are not far away from it.
She left an hour ago, and he was very close behind.
I like to keep my phone close at hand so I can get it quickly.
They stood close together.
board
Noun
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A board is a group of people who govern something.
The school board has chosen new textbooks for all the schools.
Bret Stephens is a member of the editorial board of the Wall Street Journal.
School boards are supposed to make sure students get the best education possible.
Copies also should be sent to the chairman of the licensing board.
I have a meeting coming up with the Community Advisory Board.
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A board is a long piece of wood.
The outside of the house was made of wooden boards.
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A board is a flat surface.
The knives should be used on a wooden cutting board only.
He pinned his poster in the center of the bulletin board.
There were two diving boards at the deep end of the pool.
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If something is true across the board, it is true in all cases.
He was number one across the board. Nobody was better.
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If something is on the drawing board, it is being planned.
The designs for the car is still on the drawing board.
I think those students need to go back to the drawing board.
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A message board is a place for people to share ideas publicly, often over the internet.
These days churches are using e-mail, message boards, and blogs to communicate.
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A circuit board is flat, usually green, piece of electronic equipment.
He opened the computer so we could get a look at the circuit board.
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A sounding board is a person or group of people who will listen to your ideas and tell you if they're good or not.
I often discuss company matters with him, and use him as a sounding board.
board
Verb
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If you board a boat, plane, train, or other vehicle, you get onto it.
Sarah boarded the plane.
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If a boat, plane, train, or other vehicle is boarding, passengers are allowed to get on it.
Flight AC002 is now boarding at gate two.
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If you board in a school or in someone's house, you pay to live there.
In Paris, I boarded with a nice family in Le Alle.
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If you board a building or a business up, you close it for a long time.
Number 1 Strand Street was finally cleaned out, boarded up, and offered for sale by the city.
case
Noun
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A case is a container to hold something.
He opened the case and pulled out his violin.
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A case is a matter for police or in court.
The judge did not accept his case.
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A case is the form of a noun showing how it is used in a sentence.
The word "he" is in the subject or nominative case.
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A case is a person of a certain kind.
That man is sure a hard case.
case
Verb
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If a police officer cases a house, he or she watches it until something happens.
We were casing a house all night in Brooklyn.