a. [ Compar. Nearer superl. Nearest. ] [ See Near, adv. ] 1. Not far distant in time, place, or degree; not remote; close at hand; adjacent; neighboring; nigh. “As one near death.” Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

He served great Hector, and was ever near,
Not with his trumpet only, but his spear. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Closely connected or related. [ 1913 Webster ]

She is thy father's near kinswoman. Lev. xviii. 12. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Close to one's interests, affection, etc.; touching, or affecting intimately; intimate; dear; as, a near friend. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Close to anything followed or imitated; not free, loose, or rambling; as, a version near to the original. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. So as barely to avoid or pass injury or loss; close; narrow{ 3 }; as, a near escape; a near miss. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. Next to the driver, when he is on foot; in the Unted States, on the left of an animal or a team; as, the near ox; the near leg. See Off side, under Off, a. [ 1913 Webster ]

7. Immediate; direct; close; short. “The nearest way.” Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

8. Close-fisted; parsimonious. [ Obs. or Low, Eng. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ Near may properly be followed by to before the thing approached; but more frequently to is omitted, and the adjective or the adverb is regarded as a preposition. The same is also true of the word nigh. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- Nigh; close; adjacent; proximate; contiguous; present; ready; intimate; familiar; dear. [ 1913 Webster ]

prep. Adjacent to; close by; not far from; nigh; as, the ship sailed near the land. See the Note under near, a. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Neared p. pr. & vb. n Nearing. ] [ See Near, adv. ] To approach; to come nearer; as, the ship neared the land. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To draw near; to approach. [ 1913 Webster ]

A speck, a mist, a shape, I wist!
And still it neared, and neared. Coleridge. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. [ AS. neár, compar. of neáh nigh. See Nigh. ] 1. At a little distance, in place, time, manner, or degree; not remote; nigh. [ 1913 Webster ]

My wife! my traitress! let her not come near me. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Nearly; almost; well-nigh. “Near twenty years ago.” Shak. “Near a fortnight ago.” Addison. [ 1913 Webster ]

Near about the yearly value of the land. Locke. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Closely; intimately. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Far and near, at a distance and close by; throughout a whole region. --
To come near to, to want but little of; to approximate to. “Such a sum he found would go near to ruin him.” Addison. --
Near the wind (Naut.), close to the wind; closehauled. [ 1913 Webster ]

. Any of various malt liquors (see Citation below). [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

Near beer is a term of common currency used to designate all that class of malt liquors which contain so little alcohol (usually less than 1/2 per cent) that they will not produce intoxication, though drunk to excess, and includes in its meaning all malt liquors which are not within the purview of the general prohibition law. Cambell v. City of Thomasville, Georgia Appeal Records, 6 212. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

a. & adv. situated near; as, the nearby towns. Opposite of far away. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

a. [ Neo + arctic. ] Of or pertaining to a region of the earth's surface including all of temperate and arctic North America and Greenland. In the geographical distribution of animals, this region is marked off as the habitat certain species. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. less distant in space; as, we walked to the nearer house. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

a. & adv. Near; near at hand; closely. [ Obs. or Scot. ] Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]