narrow

== English == === Alternative forms === narrowe (obsolete) === Pronunciation === (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈnæɹ.əʊ/ (General American) IPA(key): /ˈnæɹ.oʊ/ IPA(key): /ˈnɛ(ə.)ɹ.oʊ/ Hyphenation: nar‧row Rhymes: -æɹəʊ === Etymology 1 === 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”). ==== Adjective ==== narrow (comparative narrower, superlative narrowest) Having a small width; not wide; having opposite edges or sides that are close, especially by comparison to length or depth. Of little extent; very limited; circumscribed. (figuratively) Restrictive; without flexibility or latitude. Contracted; of limited scope; bigoted Having a small margin or degree. (dated) Limited as to means; straitened Parsimonious; niggardly; covetous; selfish. Scrutinizing in detail; close; accurate; exact. (phonetics) 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. (computing) Of or supporting only those text characters that can fit into the traditional 8-bit representation. Antonym: wide ===== Antonyms ===== wide broad ===== Derived terms ===== ===== Related terms ===== narrowly narrowness ===== Translations ===== ==== Noun ==== narrow (plural narrows) (chiefly in the plural) A narrow passage, especially a contracted part of a stream, lake, or sea; a strait connecting two bodies of water. === Etymology 2 === From Middle English narwen (“to narrow”); see there for more details, but ultimately derived from the noun. ==== Verb ==== narrow (third-person singular simple present narrows, present participle narrowing, simple past and past participle narrowed) (transitive) To reduce in width or extent; to contract. (intransitive) To get narrower. (of a person or eyes) To partially lower one's eyelids in a way usually taken to suggest a defensive, aggressive or penetrating look. (knitting) To contract the size of, as a stocking, by taking two stitches into one. (transitive, programming) To convert to a data type that cannot hold as many distinct values. Antonym: widen ===== Synonyms ===== taper ===== Derived terms ===== narrowable narrow down narrow up renarrow ===== Translations =====