narrow

CEFRA2

/ˈnæɹəʊ/

adjective · verb

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    adjective

    Having a small distance from one side to the other.

  2. 02

    verb

    To make or become less wide.

Examples

  • Have you ever had a narrow escape?

  • Stray dogs wander the steep narrow lanes of the old town.

At a glance

Sits at A2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
5
Synonyms
5

Also pronounced

  • /ˈnæɹoʊ/
  • /ˈnaɾo/

Deep Dive

adjective

Extra meanings

  1. Of little extent; very limited; circumscribed.

  2. Restrictive; without flexibility or latitude.

  3. Having a small width; not wide; having opposite edges or sides that are close, especially by comparison to length or depth.

More examples

In context

  • Enter by the narrow gate.

  • a narrow hallway

  • a narrow interpretation

Synonyms

Antonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The path through the forest was so blank that only one person could pass at a time.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

adjective

From Middle English narow, narowe, narewe, narwe, naru, from Old English nearu (“narrow, strait, confined, constricted, not spacious, limited, petty; limited, poor, restricted; oppressive, causing anxiety (of that which restricts free action of body or mind), causing or accompanied by difficulty, hardship, oppressive; oppressed, not having free action; strict, severe”), from Proto-West Germanic *naru, from Proto-Germanic *narwaz (“constricted, narrow”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ner- (“to turn, bend, twist, constrict”). Cognates Cognate with North Frisian naar, noar, noor, nåår (“narrow”), Saterland Frisian noar (“narrow”), Dutch naar (“nasty, scary; sickening, unpleasant”), Danish and S...