NARROWING

constricting, constrictive, narrowing

(adjective) (of circumstances) tending to constrict freedom

tapered, tapering, narrowing

(adjective) becoming gradually narrower; “long tapering fingers”; “trousers with tapered legs”

narrowing

(noun) the act of making something narrower

narrowing

(noun) an instance of becoming narrow

narrowing

(noun) a decrease in width

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Verb

narrowing

present participle of narrow

Noun

narrowing (plural narrowings)

The process of becoming narrow.

The part of a stocking that is narrowed.

Source: Wiktionary


Nar"row*ing, n.

1. The act of contracting, or of making or becoming less in breadth or extent.

2. The part of a stocking which is narrowed.

NARROW

Nar"row, a. [Compar. Narrower; superl. Narrowest.] Etym: [OE. narwe, naru, AS. nearu; akin to OS. naru, naro.]

1. Of little breadth; not wide or broad; having little distance from side to side; as, a narrow board; a narrow street; a narrow hem. Hath passed in safety through the narrow seas. Shak.

2. Of little extent; very limited; circumscribed. The Jews were but a small nation, and confined to a narrow compass in the world. Bp. Wilkins.

3. 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. Dryden.

4. Limited as to means; straitened; pinching; as, narrow circumstances.

5. Contracted; of limited scope; illiberal; bigoted; as, a narrow mind; narrow views. "A narrow understanding." Macaulay.

6. Parsimonious; niggardly; covetous; selfish. A very narrow and stinted charity. Smalridge.

7. Scrutinizing in detail; close; accurate; exact. But first with narrow search I must walk round This garden, and no corner leave unspied. Milton.

8. (Phon.)

Definition: 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 oo (food), etc., from ì (ìll) and oo (foot), etc. See Guide to Pronunciation, § 13.

Note: Narrow is not unfrequently prefixed to words, especially to participles and adjectives, forming compounds of obvious signification; as, narrow-bordered, narrow-brimmed, narrow-breasted, narrow-edged, narrow-faced, narrow-headed, narrow-leaved, narrow- pointed, narrow-souled, narrow-sphered, etc. Narrow gauge. (Railroad) See Note under Gauge, n., 6.

Nar"row, n.; pl. Narrows (.

Definition: 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. Near the island lay on one side the jaws of a dangerous narrow. Gladstone.

Nar"row, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Narrowed; p. pr. & vb. n. Narrowing.] Etym: [AS. nearwian.]

1. To lessen the breadth of; to contract; to draw into a smaller compass; to reduce the width or extent of. Sir W. Temple.

2. 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. Our knowledge is much more narrowed if we confine ourselves to our own solitary reasonings. I. Watts.

3. (Knitting)

Definition: To contract the size of, as a stocking, by taking two stitches into one.

Nar"row, v. i.

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

2. (Man.)

Definition: Not to step out enough to the one hand or the other; as, a horse narrows. Farrier's Dict.

3. (Knitting)

Definition: To contract the size of a stocking or other knit article, by taking two stitches into one.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

24 November 2024

CUNT

(noun) a person (usually but not necessarily a woman) who is thoroughly disliked; “she said her son thought Hillary was a bitch”


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Coffee Trivia

An article published in Harvard Men’s Health Watch in 2012 shows heavy coffee drinkers live longer. The researchers examined data from 400,000 people and found out that men who drank six or more coffee cups per day had a 10% lower death rate.

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