Definitions for narrow
ˈnær oʊnar·row

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

1. narrow(adj)

   a narrow strait connecting two bodies of water

2. narrow(adj)

   not wide

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

3. narrow(adj)

   limited in size or scope

   "the narrow sense of a word"

4. narrow-minded, narrow(adj)

   lacking tolerance or flexibility or breadth of view

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

5. narrow(adj)

   very limited in degree

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

6. minute, narrow(verb)

   characterized by painstaking care and detailed examination

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

7. narrow, contract(verb)

   make or become more narrow or restricted

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

8. pin down, peg down, nail down, narrow down, narrow, specify(verb)

   define clearly

   "I cannot narrow down the rules for this game"

9. specialize, specialise, narrow, narrow down(verb)

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

   "She specializes in Near Eastern history"

10. constrict, constringe, narrow(verb)

    become tight or as if tight

    "Her throat constricted"

Wiktionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. narrow(Verb)

   To reduce in width or extent; to contract.

   We need to narrow the search.

   Etymology: Old English nearu

2. narrow(Verb)

   To get narrower.

   The road narrows.

   Etymology: Old English nearu

3. 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

   Etymology: Old English nearu

4. narrow(Adjective)

   Restrictive; without flexibility or latitude.

   a narrow interpretation

   Etymology: Old English nearu

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

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

2. Narrow

   of little extent; very limited; circumscribed

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

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

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

4. Narrow

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

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

5. Narrow

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

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

6. Narrow

   parsimonious; niggardly; covetous; selfish

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

7. Narrow

   scrutinizing in detail; close; accurate; exact

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

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

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

9. 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

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

10. Narrow(verb)

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

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

11. 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

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

12. Narrow(verb)

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

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

13. Narrow(verb)

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

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

14. Narrow(verb)

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

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

15. Narrow(verb)

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

    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.]

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

   

   Daniel

   British

   

   Karen

   Australian

   

   Veena

   Indian

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. 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.

2. Debra Aho Williamson:

   Instagram Stories are in themselves already more intimate. You can share things that are maybe a bit less polished, less perfect, [ and ] daily moments from your life, from there is the ability to narrow the audience. I think that's valuable.

3. Eric Ueland:

   Leader McConnell is busy giving partisan speeches, while, for the last two-and-a-half hours, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Eric Ueland, Secretary of Treasury Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, and chief of staff Meadows were sitting in a room, working hard, trying to narrow House Democrats differences and come to an agreement.

4. Marion Smith:

   Professor Kumar and other so-called educators like her are doing a disservice to our young people by teaching them a narrow and wrongheaded version of history.

5. Alan Gottlieb:

   Under existing federal law many people convicted of non-violent state-level misdemeanors have lost their Second Amendment rights because they’ve been lumped together with convicted felons due to indeterminate sentencing laws, that’s not right, and cases like this help restore some perspective and narrow some broad legislative brush strokes.

Images & Illustrations of narrow

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