Definitions for narrow
ˈnær oʊnar·row

Princeton's WordNet(3.29 / 7 votes)Rate this definition:

1. narrowadjective

   a narrow strait connecting two bodies of water

2. narrowadjective

   not wide

   "a narrow bridge"; "a narrow line across the page"

3. narrowadjective

   limited in size or scope

   "the narrow sense of a word"

4. narrow-minded, narrowadjective

   lacking tolerance or flexibility or breadth of view

   "a brilliant but narrow-minded judge"; "narrow opinions"

5. narrowadjective

   very limited in degree

   "won by a narrow margin"; "a narrow escape"

6. minute, narrowverb

   characterized by painstaking care and detailed examination

   "a minute inspection of the grounds"; "a narrow scrutiny"; "an exact and minute report"

7. narrow, contractverb

   make or become more narrow or restricted

   "The selection was narrowed"; "The road narrowed"

8. pin down, peg down, nail down, narrow down, narrow, specifyverb

   define clearly

   "I cannot narrow down the rules for this game"

9. specialize, specialise, narrow, narrow downverb

   become more focus on an area of activity or field of study

   "She specializes in Near Eastern history"

10. constrict, constringe, narrowverb

    become tight or as if tight

    "Her throat constricted"

Wiktionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. narrowverb

   To reduce in width or extent; to contract.

   We need to narrow the search.

2. narrowverb

   To get narrower.

   The road narrows.

3. narrowadjective

   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

4. narrowadjective

   Restrictive; without flexibility or latitude.

   a narrow interpretation

5. Etymology: Old English nearu

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. NARROWadjective

   Etymology: nearu , Saxon, from nyr , near.

   1. Not broad or wide, having but a small distance from side to side.

   Edward from Belgia,
   Hath pass’d in safety thro’ the narrow seas. William Shakespeare.

   The Angel stood in a narrow place, where was no way to turn either to the right hand or to the left. Numb. ii. 26.

   In a narrow-bottom’d ditch cattle cannot turn themselves. John Mortimer, Husbandry.

   2. Small; of no great extent.

   From this narrow time of gestation may ensue a smallness in the exclusion; but this inferreth no informity. Brown.

   3. Covetous; avaritious.

   To narrow breasts he comes all wrapt in gain,
   To swelling hearts he shines in honour’s fire. Philip Sidney.

   4. Contracted; of confined sentiments; ungenerous.

   Nothing more shakes any society than mean divisions between the several orders of its members, and their narrow-hearted repining at each other’s gain. Thomas Sprat, Serm.

   The greatest understanding is narrow. How much of God and nature is there, whereof we never had any idea? Nehemiah Grew, Cosmol. b. ii. c. 8.

   The hopes of receiving good from those whom we gratify, would produce but a very narrow and stinted charity. George Smalridge, Sermons.

   A salamander grows familiar with a stranger at first sight, and is not so narrow-spirited as to observe, whether the person she talks to, be in breeches or in petticoats. Addison.

   It is with narrow-soul’d people as with narrow-neck’d bottles; the less they have in them the more noise they make in pouring it out. Jonathan Swift, Miscellanies.

   5. Near; within a small distance.

   Then Mnestheus to the head his arrow drove,
   But made a glancing shot, and miss’d the dove;
   Yet miss’d so narrow, that he cut the cord
   Which fasten’d by the foot the flitting bird. Dryden.

   6. Close; vigilant; attentive.

   The orb he roam’d
   With narrow search; and with inspection deep
   Consider’d ev’ry creature, which of all
   Most opportune might serve his wiles. John Milton, Par. Lost.

   Many malicious spies are searching into the actions of a great man, who is not always the best prepared for so narrow an inspection. Joseph Addison, Spectator, №. 265.

2. To Narrowverb

   Etymology: from the adjective.

   1. To diminish with respect to breadth or wideness.

   In the wall he made narrowed rests, that the beams should not be fastened in the walls of the house. 1 Kings vi. 6.

   By reason of the great Continent of Brasilia, the needle deflecteth toward the land twelve degrees; but at the Straits of Magellan, where the land is narrowed, and the sea on the other side, it varieth about five or six. Thomas Browne, V. Err.

   A government, which by alienating the affections, losing the opinions, and crossing the interests of the people, leaves out of its compass the greatest part of their consent, may justly be said, in the same degrees it loses ground, to narrow its bottom. William Temple, Miscel.

   2. To contract; to impair in dignity of extent or influence.

   One science is incomparably above all the rest, where it is not by corruption narrowed into a trade, for mean or ill ends, and secular interests; I mean, theology, which contains the knowledge of God and his creatures. John Locke, Works.

   3. To contract in sentiment or capacity of knowledge.

   Desuetude does contract and narrow our faculties, so that we can apprehend only those things in which we are conversant. Government of the Tongue.

   How hard it is to get the mind, narrowed by a scanty collection of common ideas, to enlarge itself to a more copious stock. John Locke, Works.

   Lo! ev’ry finish’d son returns to thee!
   Bounded by nature, narrow’d still by art,
   A trifling head, and a contracted heart. Alexander Pope, Dunc. b. iv.

   4. To confine; to limit.

   By admitting too many things at once into one question, the mind is dazzled and bewildered; whereas by limiting and narrowing the question, you take a fuller survey of the whole. Isaac Watts, Logick.

   Our knowledge is much more narrow’d, if we confine ourselves to our own solitary reasonings, without much reading. Isaac Watts.

   5. [In farriery.]A horse is said to narrow, when he does not take ground enough, and does not bear far enough out to the one hand or to the other. Farr. Dict.

Webster Dictionary(1.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. Narrow

   of little breadth; not wide or broad; having little distance from side to side; as, a narrow board; a narrow street; a narrow hem

2. Narrow

   of little extent; very limited; circumscribed

3. Narrow

   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

4. Narrow

   limited as to means; straitened; pinching; as, narrow circumstances

5. Narrow

   contracted; of limited scope; illiberal; bigoted; as, a narrow mind; narrow views

6. Narrow

   parsimonious; niggardly; covetous; selfish

7. Narrow

   scrutinizing in detail; close; accurate; exact

8. Narrow

   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

9. Narrownoun

   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

10. Narrowverb

    to lessen the breadth of; to contract; to draw into a smaller compass; to reduce the width or extent of

11. Narrowverb

    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

12. Narrowverb

    to contract the size of, as a stocking, by taking two stitches into one

13. Narrowverb

    to become less broad; to contract; to become narrower; as, the sea narrows into a strait

14. Narrowverb

    not to step out enough to the one hand or the other; as, a horse narrows

15. Narrowverb

    to contract the size of a stocking or other knit article, by taking two stitches into one

16. Etymology: [OE. narwe, naru, AS. nearu; akin to OS. naru, naro.]

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Narrow

   nar′ō, adj. of little breadth: of small extent from side to side: limited: contracted in mind: bigoted: not liberal: selfish: within a small distance: almost too small: close: accurate: careful.—n. (oftener used in the pl.) a narrow passage, channel, or strait.—v.t. to make narrow: to contract or confine.—v.i. to become narrow: to reduce the number of stitches in knitting.—adj. Narr′ow-gauge, denoting a railroad of less width than 4 ft. 8½ in.—n. Narr′owing, the act of making less in breadth: the state of being contracted: the part of anything which is made narrower.—adv. Narr′owly.—adj. Narr′ow-mind′ed, of a narrow or illiberal mind.—ns. Narr′ow-mind′edness; Narr′owness.—adjs. Narr′ow-pry′ing (Shak.), scrutinising closely, inquisitive; Narr′ow-souled, illiberal.—Narrow cloth, cloth, esp. woollen, of less than 54 inches in width; Narrow work, in mining, the making of passages, air-shafts, &c. [A.S. nearu; not conn. with near, but prob. with nerve, snare.]

Matched Categories

1. • Change
   • Determine

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'narrow' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #2102

2. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'narrow' in Written Corpus Frequency: #3295

3. Verbs Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'narrow' in Verbs Frequency: #1030

4. Adjectives Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'narrow' in Adjectives Frequency: #253

How to pronounce narrow?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say narrow in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of narrow in Chaldean Numerology is: 5

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of narrow in Pythagorean Numerology is: 8

Examples of narrow in a Sentence

1. Jeffrey Toobin:

   In a very narrow category of cases where the federal government believes an injustice has been done, then federal prosecutors will step in, but by and large, they operate in separate spheres.

2. Richard Neal:

   Tax policy is pretty complicated. There are times when individual returns can instruct you. Other times, you might seek a business return, it has to conform to the principle of a pretty narrow law.

3. Charles Lemonides:

   The advance has finally broadened out and the old narrow leadership has come down in price, as a group value stocks will likely be stable, and the exciting names will be 20 percent higher and still be below their old highs.

4. Dan Pfeiffer:

   What has put Hunter Biden in this position( as the leader in the race) is that Hunter Biden seems like someone who could be president, there's a stature gap between Hunter Biden and Trump, and Hunter Biden has to be careful not to narrow that gap by getting pulled down in the mud with Trump.

5. Mark Morrison-Reed:

   The religious community is essential, for alone our vision is too narrow to see all that must be seen. Together, our vision widens and strength is renewed.

Popularity rank by frequency of use