Definitions for narrowˈnær oʊ

Random House Webster's College Dictionary

nar•rowˈnær oʊ(adj.; v.; n.)-row•er, -row•est

(adj.)of little breadth or width.
affording little room:
narrow quarters.
limited in range or scope.
lacking breadth of view or sympathy.
barely adequate or successful; close:
a narrow escape.
careful or minute, as a scrutiny, search, or inquiry.
limited in amount; meager:
narrow resources.
(of a phonetic transcription) using a symbol for each phoneme together with supplementary symbols or diacritics to indicate phonetic details.
Category: Phonetics
Ref: (of a speech sound) tense1 (def. 4 ). 1 4; Compare broad (def. 13). 1 14
(v.i.)to decrease in width or breadth.
(v.t.)to make narrower.
to limit or restrict (often fol. by down).
to make narrow-minded.
(n.)a narrow part, place, or thing.
a narrow part of a valley, passage, or road.
narrows, (used with a sing. or pl. v.) a narrow part of a strait, river, ocean current, etc.

Origin of narrow:

bef. 900; ME; OE nearu, c. OS naru, MD nare, naer narrow; akin to MHG narwe scar

nar′row•ness(n.)

Princeton's WordNet

narrow(adj)
a narrow strait connecting two bodies of water
narrow(adj)
not wide
"a narrow bridge"; "a narrow line across the page"
narrow(adj)
limited in size or scope
"the narrow sense of a word"
narrow-minded, narrow(adj)
lacking tolerance or flexibility or breadth of view
"a brilliant but narrow-minded judge"; "narrow opinions"
narrow(adj)
very limited in degree
"won by a narrow margin"; "a narrow escape"
minute, narrow(verb)
characterized by painstaking care and detailed examination
"a minute inspection of the grounds"; "a narrow scrutiny"; "an exact and minute report"
narrow, contract(verb)
make or become more narrow or restricted
"The selection was narrowed"; "The road narrowed"
pin down, peg down, nail down, narrow down, narrow, specify(verb)
define clearly
"I cannot narrow down the rules for this game"
specialize, specialise, narrow, narrow down(verb)
become more focus on an area of activity or field of study
"She specializes in Near Eastern history"
constrict, constringe, narrow(verb)
become tight or as if tight
"Her throat constricted"

Kernerman English Learner's Dictionary

narrow(adjective)ˈnær oʊ
≠ wide
a narrow road; The sidewalk is narrow.
narrowˈnær oʊ
indicates sth almost did not happen
a narrow escape; a narrow win
narrowˈnær oʊ
≠ broad
a narrow selection of products; a narrow view of life
narrowˈnær oʊ
very small in size or number
to win by a narrow margin/majority
narrow(verb)ˈnær oʊ
to become narrow
the point where the river narrows; The gap between the two candidates has narrowed.

Wiktionary

narrow(Verb)
To reduce in width or extent; to contract.
We need to narrow the search.
narrow(Verb)
To get narrower.
The road narrows.
narrow(Adjective)
having a small width; not wide; slim; slender; having opposite edges or sides that are close, especially by comparison to length or depth.
a narrow hallway
narrow(Adjective)
Restrictive; without flexibility or latitude.
a narrow interpretation

Origin: Old English nearu

Webster Dictionary

Narrow(u)
of little breadth; not wide or broad; having little distance from side to side; as, a narrow board; a narrow street; a narrow hem
Narrow(u)
of little extent; very limited; circumscribed
Narrow(u)
having but a little margin; having barely sufficient space, time, or number, etc.; close; near; -- with special reference to some peril or misfortune; as, a narrow shot; a narrow escape; a narrow majority
Narrow(u)
limited as to means; straitened; pinching; as, narrow circumstances
Narrow(u)
contracted; of limited scope; illiberal; bigoted; as, a narrow mind; narrow views
Narrow(u)
parsimonious; niggardly; covetous; selfish
Narrow(u)
scrutinizing in detail; close; accurate; exact
Narrow(u)
formed (as a vowel) by a close position of some part of the tongue in relation to the palate; or (according to Bell) by a tense condition of the pharynx; -- distinguished from wide; as e (eve) and / (f/d), etc., from i (ill) and / (f/t), etc. See Guide to Pronunciation, / 13
Narrow(noun)
a narrow passage; esp., a contracted part of a stream, lake, or sea; a strait connecting two bodies of water; -- usually in the plural; as, The Narrows of New York harbor
Narrow(verb)
to lessen the breadth of; to contract; to draw into a smaller compass; to reduce the width or extent of
Narrow(verb)
to contract the reach or sphere of; to make less liberal or more selfish; to limit; to confine; to restrict; as, to narrow one's views or knowledge; to narrow a question in discussion
Narrow(verb)
to contract the size of, as a stocking, by taking two stitches into one
Narrow(verb)
to become less broad; to contract; to become narrower; as, the sea narrows into a strait
Narrow(verb)
not to step out enough to the one hand or the other; as, a horse narrows
Narrow(verb)
to contract the size of a stocking or other knit article, by taking two stitches into one