narrow

English

Alternative forms

• narrowe (obsolete)

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈnæɹəʊ/

• Audio (UK)

  (file)

• (General American)
  • IPA^(key): /ˈnæɹoʊ/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

  (Mary–marry–merry distinction)
  • IPA^(key): /ˈnɛ(ə)ɹoʊ/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

  (Mary–marry–merry merger)
• 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-Germanic *narwaz (“constricted, narrow”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ner- (“to turn, bend, twist, constrict”). Cognate with Scots naro, narow, narrow (“narrow”), North Frisian naar, noar, noor (“narrow”), Saterland Frisian noar (“bleak, dismal, meager, ghastly, unwell”), Saterland Frisian Naarwe (“scar”), West Frisian near (“narrow”), Dutch naar (“dismal, bleak, ill, sick”), Low German naar (“dismal, ghastly”), German Nehrung (“spit, narrow peninsula”), Norwegian norve (“a clip, staple”), Icelandic njörva- (“narrow-”, in compounds).

Adjective

narrow (comparative narrower, superlative narrowest)

1. Having a small width; not wide; having opposite edges or sides that are close, especially by comparison to length or depth.

   a narrow hallway

   • 1922, Ben Travers, chapter 1, in A Cuckoo in the Nest‎^[1]:

     She was like a Beardsley Salome, he had said. And indeed she had the narrow eyes and the high cheekbone of that creature, and as nearly the sinuosity as is compatible with human symmetry.

   • 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 14, in The China Governess‎^[2]:

     Just under the ceiling there were three lunette windows, heavily barred and blacked out in the normal way by centuries of grime. Their bases were on a level with the pavement outside, a narrow way which was several feet lower than the road behind the house.

   • 2013 July-August, Catherine Clabby, “Focus on Everything”, in American Scientist:

     Not long ago, it was difficult to produce photographs of tiny creatures with every part in focus. That’s because the lenses that are excellent at magnifying tiny subjects produce a narrow depth of field. A photo processing technique called focus stacking has changed that.

   • Small definition

     Not large or big; insignificant; few in number. (1 of 10 small definitions)

   • Wide definition

     Having a large physical extent from side to side. (1 of 10 wide definitions)

   • Close definition

     To remove a gap.

     1. To move a thing, or part of a thing, nearer to another so that the gap or opening between the two is removed. (1 of 18 close definitions)

   • Length definition

     The distance measured along the longest dimension of an object. (1 of 9 length definitions)

   • Depth definition

     the vertical distance below a surface; the degree to which something is deep (1 of 14 depth definitions)
2. Of little extent; very limited; circumscribed.
   • 1675, John Wilkins, Of the Principles and Duties of Natural Religion:

     The Jews were but a small nation, and confined to a narrow compass in the world.

   • Circumscribed definition

     simple past and past participle of circumscribe
3. (figuratively) Restrictive; without flexibility or latitude.

   a narrow interpretation

   • Restrictive definition

     Confining, limiting, containing within defined bounds. (1 of 2 restrictive definitions)

   • Flexibility definition

     The quality of being flexible; suppleness; pliability. (1 of 2 flexibility definitions)

   • Latitude definition

     The angular distance north or south from a planet's equator, measured along the meridian of that particular point. (1 of 6 latitude definitions)
4. Contracted; of limited scope; bigoted

   a narrow mind

   narrow views

   • Bigoted definition

     Having the characteristics of a bigot; strongly prejudiced; forming opinions without just cause.
5. Having a small margin or degree.

   a narrow escape

   The Republicans won by a narrow majority.

   • 2011 September 18, Ben Dirs, “Rugby World Cup 2011: England 41-10 Georgia”, in BBC Sport‎^[3]:

     As in their narrow defeat of Argentina last week, England were indisciplined at the breakdown, and if Georgian fly-half Merab Kvirikashvili had remembered his kicking boots, Johnson's side might have been behind at half-time.

   • Margin definition

     The edge of the paper, typically left blank when printing but sometimes used for annotations etc. (1 of 9 margin definitions)
6. (dated) Limited as to means; straitened

   narrow circumstances

   • Straitened definition

     simple past and past participle of straiten
7. Parsimonious; niggardly; covetous; selfish.
   • a. 1719, George Smalridge, The Hopes of a Recompense from Men must not be our chief Aim in doing Good:

     a very narrow […] and stinted charity

8. Scrutinizing in detail; close; accurate; exact.
   • 1667, John Milton, “Book IX”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:

     But first with narrow search I must walk round
     This garden, and no corner leave unspied.

9. (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.

   • Phonetics definition

     The study of the physical sounds of human speech, concerned with the physical properties of speech sounds (phones), and the processes of their physiological production, auditory reception, and neurophysiological perception, and their representation by written symbols.

Antonyms

• wide
• broad

Derived terms

Related terms

• narrowly
• narrowness

Translations

Noun

narrow (plural narrows)

1. (chiefly in the plural) A narrow passage, especially a contracted part of a stream, lake, or sea; a strait connecting two bodies of water.

   the narrows of New York harbor

   • 1858, William Gladstone, Studies on Homer and the Homeric Age:

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

   • Stream definition

     A small river; a large creek; a body of moving water confined by banks. (1 of 8 stream definitions)

   • Lake definition

     A large, landlocked stretch of water or similar liquid. (1 of 4 lake definitions)

   • Sea definition

     ISO 639-3 language code for Semai.

   • Strait definition

     Narrow; restricted as to space or room; close. (1 of 7 strait definitions)

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)

1. (transitive) To reduce in width or extent; to contract.

   We need to narrow the search.

   • Reduce definition

     To bring down the size, quantity, quality, value or intensity of something; to diminish, to lower. (1 of 18 reduce definitions)

   • Width definition

     The state of being wide. (1 of 5 width definitions)

   • Extent definition

     A range of values or locations. (1 of 5 extent definitions)

   • Contract definition

     An agreement between two or more parties, to perform a specific job or work order, often temporary or of fixed duration and usually governed by a written agreement. (1 of 6 contract definitions)
2. (intransitive) To get narrower.

   The road narrows.

3. (of a person or eyes) To partially lower one's eyelids in a way usually taken to suggest a defensive, aggressive or penetrating look.

   He stepped in front of me, narrowing his eyes to slits.

   She wagged her finger in his face, and her eyes narrowed.

4. (knitting) To contract the size of, as a stocking, by taking two stitches into one.

   • Knitting definition

     present participle and gerund of knit
5. (transitive, programming) To convert to a data type that cannot hold as many distinct values.

   Antonym: widen

   to narrow an int variable to a short variable

   • Programming definition

     The designing, scheduling or planning of a radio or television program/programme. (1 of 6 programming definitions)

   • Data Type definition

     A classification or category of various types of data, that states the possible values that can be taken, how they are stored, and what range of operations are allowed on them.

   • Widen definition

     To become wide or wider. (1 of 5 widen definitions)

Synonyms

• taper

Derived terms

• narrowable
• narrow down
• renarrow

Translations