nearby
/ˈnɪɹˈbaɪ/
adjectiveadverb
Common
1.adj.close at hand
“the nearby towns”
2.adv.not far away in relative terms
“she works nearby”
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nearby and nearly differ by a single letter, buried far enough into the word to be easy to miss. nearby means “close at hand”. nearly means “(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but”. nearly is the more common of the two in everyday English.
/ˈnɪɹˈbaɪ/
1.adj.close at hand
“the nearby towns”
2.adv.not far away in relative terms
“she works nearby”
/ˈnɪɹli/
1.adv.(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
“the job is (just) about done”
2.adv.in a close manner
“the two phenomena are intimately connected”
| nearby | nearly | |
|---|---|---|
| Pronunciation | /ˈnɪɹˈbaɪ/ | /ˈnɪɹli/ |
| Said | NIR-bahy | NIR-lee |
| Syllables | 2 | 2 |
| Letters | 6 | 6 |
| Parts of speech | adjective, adverb | adverb |
| Senses | 2 | 2 |
| How common | Common | Core |
| Synonyms | none recorded | about, almost, most |
Full entry for nearby · Full entry for nearly · More comparisons