narrow1 adjectivenarrow2 verb
narrownar‧row1 /ˈnærəʊ $ -roʊ/ ●●● S3 W2 adjective 
WORD ORIGINnarrow1
Origin:
Old English nearuEXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- a narrow black tie
- a narrow examination of events
- A steep, narrow path led down through the woods to the beach.
- Columns that are too narrow are unattractive and difficult to read.
- Nordic skis are longer, narrower and lighter than Alpine skis.
- She climbed through a narrow gap in the fence.
- the narrow streets of Italian cities
- The road was too narrow for me to overtake the car in front.
- Their interpretation of Christianity is narrow and limiting.
- Adjust the starting point so that you avoid a very narrow margin at the perimeter.
- He stood now flush against the side of the bluff on a narrow ledge, his hands over his face.
- I see narrow roads contoured into the sides of steep slopes.
- Plants cultivated in half-shade have very narrow leaves and resemble some species of Aponogeton.
- The Dow, the most closely followed index, though a much narrower one, started the decade at 2, 753.
- The landed nobility provided tsarism with a perilously narrow social base.
- There was a narrow stone path, Alexei now saw, around the base of the promontory beyond the buttress.
- We have a long narrow area and the motorway has cut it in half.
Longman Language Activatornot wide
a narrow road, river, bed, space etc is not wide when measured from one side to the other: · A steep, narrow path led down through the woods to the beach.· She climbed through a narrow gap in the fence.· The road was too narrow for me to overtake the car in front.· Nordic skis are longer, narrower and lighter than Alpine skis.
to become narrower also narrow if something such as a road, river, path, or passage gets narrower or narrows , it becomes narrow: · At that point the path got narrower and more overgrown with weeds.· The streets were getting narrower, the houses taller as we approached the oldest part of the town.get narrower to: · Having narrowed to about 50 feet in the canyon, the river was now moving with speed and fury.narrow from something to something: · Up ahead the road was narrowing from three lanes to two.
if something tapers , it is narrower at one end than the other: taper to: · In the north the island is six miles across, but it tapers to two in the south.taper to a point: · The leaves are bright green and taper to a point at the tip.· The girl's forehead was broad, tapering to a delicate chin.
to win when you almost lost if someone wins something or is elected by a narrow margin , they win by getting only a few more points, votes etc than their opponent: · We won the debate by a narrow margin.· Winning by a narrow margin, the Lakers now go on to play in the championships.
British to win by a very small number of votes or points, or by a very small distance in a race: · The Green Party scraped home in the local elections.· The referees decided that Foreman had just scraped home.
also be a close-run thing British if a race, competition, election etc is close or is a close-run thing , any person or party could win because they all have nearly the same number of points, votes etc, or are close to each other in the race: · The election was very close - a handful of votes decided it.· The champions have kept their title, but it was a close-run thing.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY
a long narrow road the narrow passage between the cottage and the house A woman had a narrow escape yesterday when her car left the road. You’ve got a very narrow view of life.COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES a fine-bore tube
a long narrow road the narrow passage between the cottage and the house A woman had a narrow escape yesterday when her car left the road. You’ve got a very narrow view of life.· The tree grows in a narrow belt around the western Mediterranean.
a fine-bore tube· Ken was the centre of a small circle of artists and writers.
(=not broad enough)· Many teachers complained that the new curriculum was too narrow.
(=by a small amount)· The goalkeeper was blamed for the team’s narrow defeat.
(=including only a few ideas)· Some psychiatrists still use a very narrow definition of mental illness.
· I could see part of the yard through the narrow entrance.
(=to only just avoid danger or difficulties)· The team had a narrow escape from relegation last season.
· He has a thin face and narrow eyes.
(=partly close them, especially to show that you do not trust someone)· She narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously.
(=become half closed, especially because someone does not trust another person)· Her dark eyes narrowed for a moment.
· Tears rolled down her thin face.
· There’s only a narrow gap between the two candidates in the polls.
(=reduce the amount or importance of a difference)· The book aims to bridge the gap between theory and practice.· The policies are designed to close the gap between rich and poor.
· Polls show the gap between the two candidates has narrowed.
(=a very small majority)· The proposal was passed by a slim majority.
(=not wide)· The margins are very narrow, making the page look cluttered.
(=a very small one)· The proposal passed, but only by a narrow margin.
· A narrow passage led to a small room at the back of the house.
· We walked along a narrow path beside a stream.
· They only had a very limited range of products available.
(=it becomes narrower)· The river narrows at this point.
· After a couple of miles, the road narrows.
· The scope of the research was quite limited.
· He had severely limited the scope of his autobiography.
· Her dark hair spilled over her narrow shoulders.
· Nathan stood in the doorway, filling the narrow space.
· an old city with quaint narrow streets
· She ran down the narrow tunnel leading to the exit.
· The valley becomes narrower at this point.
(=a win by a small amount)· A general election on Oct. 5 produced a narrow victory for the People’s Progressive Party.
(=having a thin, thick etc waist)
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB· There are fairly narrow limits to how much the Institute's lobbying is ever likely to achieve.· Flexibility Most people, despite protestations to the contrary, stick to a fairly narrow band of behaviours.· The building and decoration of this temple can be dated within fairly narrow limits.· Until the early 1960s these beliefs were not seriously tested and differences of theory appear as shades of a fairly narrow spectrum.
· Trusts take a much narrower view on long-term needs than regional health authorities, and nursing education is not even an obligation.· Law school was much narrower than I thought it would be.· Others also emphasised the study skills dimension of the library plan, but meant something much narrower by it.· Texas women chose Dole over Clinton by a much narrower margin, 46 percent to 44 percent.· He took it slowly in four-wheel drive, the road much narrower here, the outer edge of it crumbling away.· The Dow, the most closely followed index, though a much narrower one, started the decade at 2, 753.· This one was much narrower and would not have allowed Blythe to walk alongside the woman even if he had wanted to.· It is primarily a travel and entertainment card, so its retail outlets base is much narrower than that of its competitors.
· I felt the boots were rather narrow and inflexible.· Her short wavy black hair was combed neatly back from a rather narrow sloping forehead with prominent brow ridges.· Budgets in the public sector should serve a number of purposes rather than the single and rather narrow concept of compliance.· The attic stairs were rather narrow.
· Moreover, the range of earnings within agriculture is relatively narrow.· In contrast, governments that put steering and rowing within the same organization limit themselves to relatively narrow strategies.· The final variant on provision for cyclists occurs in areas where streets are relatively narrow and pass predominantly through housing districts.· Hence, many projects benefit a relatively narrow group of people and impose costs on all taxpayers.· We are best served by being very good in a relatively narrow field.· Effective training is best delivered within a relatively narrow time frame.· Far from being randomly distributed, nearly all seismic activity is concentrated in relatively narrow zones.· So far, debate has been left to a relatively narrow group of specialists.
· Many of the buildings in the old town were six storeys high and the lanes so narrow that all but pedestrians were banned.· It was so narrow that the Friendship could take off only on a southwest course, going down its length.· Did the choice of alternatives have to be so narrow, so dramatic?· Am I just so narrow that I believe the world revolves around Kip?· Indeed some observers thought this a major reason why the Conservatives won by so narrow a margin in October.· There were few paved roads, and most of the roads were so narrow only one car could pass.· He himself had a long horror of being in a space so narrow that he could not turn round.· The stairs were so narrow, that with more students coming up, his had to file down one at a time.
· However it is important to avoid the A roads which are too narrow and busy to be much fun.· The tube is too narrow even for the nucleus, which only just squeezes through.· Do they extend the definition of murder too far, or are they too narrow.· Bunions tend to run in families, but the tendency is aggravated by shoes that are too narrow in the toe.· It's a narrow place, this valley, Auntie Dilys. Too narrow for me.· But the conventional view may be too narrow.· The bed was too narrow and Oliver muttered in his sleep and ground his teeth and thrashed about with his fists.· One walked ahead with the lantern, since the stairs were too narrow to give passage to two at once.
· The young leaves are very narrow, ribbon-like, linear and pointed at the tip.· He is a decent, intelligent human being who happens to see the world through a very narrow prism.· However, the danger is that the double blow of recession and Royal Mail reorganisation could make that first rung very narrow.· My problem is I think it has a very narrow focus.· This is very narrow, more akin to a country lane, with few passing places, but is relatively traffic free.· We work on a very narrow margin.· Description: Very narrow, linear, opposite, curling, deep green leaves with 30-50 fine teeth.· Plants cultivated in half-shade have very narrow leaves and resemble some species of Aponogeton.
NOUN· Graham and Slater walked down the narrow alley formed by the seedy, decaying stonework and the painted wood.· When she reached Soho, a policeman directed her to Manette Street; a narrow alley between two tall buildings.· Then I reached a narrow alley full of large snowballs.· He threads his way through narrow alleys where the sun never penetrates.· I'd overshot the narrow alley before it registered properly.· She followed Will along the mean cobbled streets until he paused alongside a narrow alley.· The drums lead us through the warren of narrow alleys to a courtyard whose entrance is blocked by a knot of people.· It's all narrow alleys and overhangs.
· There are times when prejudice only contributes to conflict in the narrow band of outlook and experience where that prejudice exists.· So, fixed exchange rates or narrow bands simply do not allow countries the flexibility to solve their internal economic troubles.· To perform well it has to be tightly targeted to cope with quite a narrow band of frequencies.· A monochromator is a device for selecting a narrow band of wavelengths from a continuous spectrum.· It shifted, became a narrow band of darkness, then widened again.· It is fun to create a pretty effect by sowing them in a narrow band, weaving between the brassicas like ribbon.· We will put the pound into the narrow band of the Exchange Rate Mechanism.· In northern Scandinavia there is only a narrow band a few kilometres wide along the northeastern coast of Kola Peninsula.
· Standing he drew her towards him and they moved together the few paces to the narrow bed.· Q: I would like your advice on perennials to plant in a narrow bed across the back of our yard.· When they reached the stream they found it to be a rushing torrent that swept in mad haste along a narrow bed.· Fred and Win had a little room with two narrow beds.· Lying on his uncomfortably narrow bed, he thought back to the events which had brought about his present state.· Its ceiling sloped and it held a narrow bed with a small table beside it; no space for anything else.· She leapt from the narrow bed.· There was a-small desk beside a narrow bed and the young lieutenant, Benson, sat at it.
· Don't get me wrong - I love narrow boat life.· Above: The elaborately decorated cabin of a narrow boat.· She hadn't known, when she agreed to Caro's suggestion, that her friend lived on a narrow boat.· Each caisson weighed 240 tons with water in it, and could carry one barge or two narrow boats.· Even so, Robbie breathed more easily once she had put the length of the narrow boat between them.· The wind howled dolefully, making the narrow boat sway and rock at her moorings.· Fen's words about narrow boat life not being all glamour returned to mock her.· The thought of a day, let alone months, spent on board a narrow boat would fill her with horror.
· Rock fall and trampling in the narrow confines of a cave are two major factors.· We are challenged to rise above the narrow confines of our individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.· In that same instant, the deafening crash of gunfire filled the narrow confines of the alley.· The higher centers are dormant when we live our lives exclusively within the narrow confines of the personality.· The new leadership proved more diffuse - beyond the narrow confines of the traditional élite and professional classes - and younger.· The narrow confines of the inner solar system seem claustrophobic compared to the asteroid belt.· We were jammed together, shoulder-to-shoulder, in the narrow confines.
· This is the narrowest definition of money.· Mr Alger, using perhaps a narrower definition of technology, put the peak exposure at 55 % of assets.· In terms of its narrow definition in the Maastricht Treaty, convergence has been surprisingly successful.· This was an older narrow definition, in fact the only one until a few years ago.· Secretary of the Amateur Rowing Association from 1893 to 1901, he tried unsuccessfully to widen its narrow definition of an amateur.· First, it is possible that a too narrow definition of comparative costs would be used.· Even using the narrow definition it is clear that desk top publishing is a complex and technical area!· The second difficulty is the narrow definition of the problem as a safety one.
· They have no time for self-congratulation on their narrow escape.· He is a veteran of numerous firefights and narrow escapes who has shown notable serenity throughout the siege.· His narrow escape at Petit-Clamart finally convinced the General that it was time to take action to meet both dangers at once.· But he has also seen the loss of life and the narrow escapes.· He was probably even now thanking his lucky stars for a narrow escape.· The driver launches forward for a narrow escape.· The hours of liberty are long, full of wonder and narrow escapes, precautions, hidden devices and daring.· It had been a narrow escape and I was impressed.
· The latter involved a narrow focus on the formal institutions of industrial relations.· My problem is I think it has a very narrow focus.· At this point in the analysis the more narrow focus on production merges with a second broader area of interest.· Holding him back, say political observers and the other candidates, is the narrow focus of his appeal.
· Darkness was falling rapidly as Campeanu eased his way past the narrow gap.· Rosie O'Dell peered through the narrow gap, her eyes half-shut against the glare of daylight.· Then he eased himself through the narrow gap feet first, and dropped lightly to the floor.· The crew tried to sail her through a narrow gap at a bridge in Purton.· It jerked against the safety-chain, leaving a narrow gap through which he scrambled to safety.
· It is the latest shot in the battle to re-construct the 23-mile narrow gauge line.· He also built a narrow gauge railway which ran round the whole estate.· At the Port Lilla was placed back on narrow gauge track for the journey up to the Quarry.· Then the narrow gauge became the standard Voice over A rail system based on a horse's behind.· At first glance there appears to be a preponderance of narrow gauge or what I would call miniature railways.· The car rattled along, crossing the myriad narrow gauge loco tracks that ran between the factories lining the route.
· I walk across the field to the gate and out into a narrow lane.· Peace in the squares and the narrow lanes, where hibiscus and bougainvillea climbed over sleepy walls.· They were now walking along a narrow lane that was no more than a rutted cart-track.· This pretty little village of narrow lanes and attractive cottages is in fact a Royal Village.· They went down a narrow lane called Smugglers' Gully, which led them on to a wild rocky headland.· He felt good as he negotiated the narrow lanes between Purton and Sharpness.· I prayed she hadn't taken one of the narrow lanes that turned off at irregular intervals.· The car turned into a narrow lane.
· Isn't this my own handwriting running sideways down the narrow margin?· Kennedy won the election by a narrow margin.· Surprise! the seventh firm won the tender by a narrow margin.· While both developer subsidies passed, the narrow margin clearly indicates the voters of this valley are beginning to wise up.· Their relatively late arrival in the quarter coupled with their costs and the narrow margins on the surprise Model 20 impacted earnings.· We work on a very narrow margin.· Local law societies were also unreceptive to the idea, although by the narrow margin of 29 against to 25 in favour.· So Weinke took the Heisman by a narrow margin and Heupel is anything but a loser.
· At the rear of the shop were two rooms, set alongside a narrow passage leading to a back door.· Crisscrossing Chinatown, these narrow passages, some as old as the city itself, serve as front yard and back yard.· But now a narrow passage leading to the single barred window had been constructed down the middle of the room.· He followed her into the narrow passage.· In the narrow passage that led through to the garden, they came upon Rafiq.· This outline is fairly abstract, consisting of oval shapes connected by narrow passages.· She was in a narrow passage that crookedly connected two busy streets.
· They moved away from the house complex down one of the narrower paths.· Keep him on the narrow path.· The jeep reached the River Orne and we turned off the road on to a narrow path just wide enough for the jeep.· He walks along a narrow path to a ridge where wild boar, hyenas and the golden mole rat occasionally roam.· But his good loyalist credentials could not save him when he departed from the narrow path.· I need to clear a narrow path through the rushes and also through the lilies that border the margins.· Morrison's aerial photographs show narrow paths going straight across miles of rugged countryside.· He forged up the narrow path, slippery with a myriad pine needles, as though his feet were winged.
· Specialised compartmentalization ensured that management was expert in the narrow range of financial services offered.· Only a narrow range of speeds was viable.· But the board provides only a narrow range of sensitivity on the variables under its own control.· Education can be a route to a narrow range of professions, but for most the prospects are poor.· The Nikkei 225 average rose 158.49 or 1.2 per cent to 13,506.23 after trading in a narrow range between 13,441.52 and 13,573.55.· Several writers have pointed to the narrow range of typifications of deviant women.· The national dailies peaked later, in 1957, but fluctuated within a comparatively narrow range.· This resulted in a narrow range of areas being tested.
· We stopped on one side of the narrow road.· Investigations are continuing to discover how the two cars came to collide at the Great Stainton crossroads on the narrow road.· I see narrow roads contoured into the sides of steep slopes.· He rode along the narrow road towards Emminster and his parents' house.· Soon, as the large Mercedes climbed narrow roads, the magic of the landscape erased all else from Katherine's mind.· Signs posted along the narrow road that leads through sloping pastures to the cliff-framed beach warn motorists to watch out for birds.
· The section, however, has a narrow scope applying only to directors, officers, and large shareholders.· Still, Clark downplayed the significance of the review, noting its narrow scope.· Its weakness lies in its very narrow scope.
· In the narrow sense, it failed to achieve its specific aims.· In the narrow sense, the battle here is over zoning.· There are important parts of these processes to which this narrow sense is relevant.· While in a certain narrow sense this is the case, in many important ways just the opposite is true.· Lord Reid stated that jurisdiction in a narrow sense meant only that the tribunal be entitled to enter upon the inquiry.· In a quite narrow sense they are right.
· He crossed the landing and mounted the narrow stairs to the attics.· The propylon from the theater leads into a dark narrow stair which turns down towards the light and into the main court.· In the end I gave in and reluctantly mounted the narrow stairs.· The passages and narrow stairs made the effort very difficult, necessitating a change in the arrangements.· Then she turned and flew on winged feet up the narrow stair to take refuge in her garret room.· All the same, it might be interesting ... As she went up the narrow stairs, Jennifer's heart was beating.· After a time I found a group of people all sitting on some narrow stairs.· He brushed down his hair and straightened his clothing and made his way down the narrow stairs towards the street.
· He led Lucien on to a narrow street lined by tiny, dark shops.· But today, crews wielding jackhammers are frantically repairing the narrow streets.· With its narrow streets and lack of parking places, this city is best explored on foot.· That means narrow streets, interior patios and walled enclosures.· The town itself has a pedestrian centre with quaint narrow streets leading down to the lake front.· And it was charming, small and cozy looking, sunburnt pink stucco with a second-floor balcony overlooking the narrow street.· Canal tours, blue-and-white china, narrow streets - if it were not also a university town it would be merely beautiful.· But there was only the one narrow street and through it drifted only George Cummings' black ambulance.
· Guard a narrow strip of paper or linen pasted to a single leaf to allow sewing into a section for binding.· A few panting children defended a narrow strip of shade beside the school.· Thinly pare the rind from 1 orange and cut into narrow strips.· They are long, narrow strips of land surrounded on at least three sides by canals.· Now there was just a narrow strip of greasy jetty between Rincewind's heels and the river.· By using the push buttons you can run the lace patterns in narrow strips between stocking stitch.· Across the Estuary, two miles away, the sun was lighting up a narrow strip of sand on the Yorkshire coast.· The narrow strip of tarmac, not enclosed by fences, winds free in a continuous search for easy passage.
· In narrow valleys surface boulders dominate the landscape.· He was in a narrow valley, woodland rising up on the opposite side.· Ahead lay a steep, narrow valley and a village, diminutive at this distance, its buildings clustered round a harbour.· Our first day's walk took us along stony tracks, through forests of birch and pine and into a narrow valley.· To the north narrow valleys rise steeply through the craggy passes to peaks and mountain lakes.
· Crowds gathered in central Lima last Sunday night to cheer his narrow victory over former president Alan Garcia.· On election night, however, the team squeaked out a narrow victory.· When the 1976 election returns were in, Jimmy Carter was found to have won a narrow victory over Gerald Ford.· Was Buzz Calkins' narrow victory over Tony Stewart enough to keep them interested?· John F.. Kennedy that helped propel the handsome young Massachusetts Democrat to a narrow victory.
· In general, the classical perspective contained a peculiarly narrow view of what it actually is that controls human behaviour.· These animals can see objects and judge distances very well, but they have a narrow view.· Unfortunately, Bellesiles takes a narrow view of the subject, asking primarily about the extent of ownership and familiarity with firearms.· And the problem is compounded because managers Jan find both the books and the consultants to reinforce their narrow view.· The narrow view is that of our individual human mind.· In recent years, a few courts have articulated a narrower view of academic freedom.· She mocks the snobbish, hypocritical and materialistic views of many people and their narrow views.· However, most mathematicians would see this as a very narrow view of their subject.
· A large, empty room with high, narrow windows through which the bright day filtered slowly on to various shades of brown.· The tall, narrow windows each had a saint in stained glass.· There is one narrow window, sticking shut from the inside with paint and nails.· There was a single narrow window opening on a shaded garden and when the door was closed it was difficult to see.· Three narrow windows were locked on the inside, shades drawn.· Thick golden bars of sunlight slanted down from the tall narrow windows.· Kids in particular love to charge up its flights of stairs and peek out its narrow windows.
PHRASES FROM THE ENTRYPHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
1not wide measuring only a small distance from one side to the other, especially in relation to the length OPP widenarrow street/road/path etc- But he has also seen the loss of life and the narrow escapes.
- He is a veteran of numerous firefights and narrow escapes who has shown notable serenity throughout the siege.
- He was probably even now thanking his lucky stars for a narrow escape.
- His narrow escape at Petit-Clamart finally convinced the General that it was time to take action to meet both dangers at once.
- It had been a narrow escape and I was impressed.
- The driver launches forward for a narrow escape.
- The hours of liberty are long, full of wonder and narrow escapes, precautions, hidden devices and daring.
- They have no time for self-congratulation on their narrow escape.
- Adjust the starting point so that you avoid a very narrow margin at the perimeter.
- Crowds gathered in central Lima last Sunday night to cheer his narrow victory over former president Alan Garcia.
- John F.. Kennedy that helped propel the handsome young Massachusetts Democrat to a narrow victory.
- On election night, however, the team squeaked out a narrow victory.
- Surprise! the seventh firm won the tender by a narrow margin.
- Their relatively late arrival in the quarter coupled with their costs and the narrow margins on the surprise Model 20 impacted earnings.
- Was Buzz Calkins' narrow victory over Tony Stewart enough to keep them interested?
- While both developer subsidies passed, the narrow margin clearly indicates the voters of this valley are beginning to wise up.
- In a quite narrow sense they are right.
- In terms of its narrow definition in the Maastricht Treaty, convergence has been surprisingly successful.
- In the narrow sense, it failed to achieve its specific aims.
- In the narrow sense, the battle here is over zoning.
- Mr Alger, using perhaps a narrower definition of technology, put the peak exposure at 55 % of assets.
- There are important parts of these processes to which this narrow sense is relevant.
- This is the narrowest definition of money.
- While in a certain narrow sense this is the case, in many important ways just the opposite is true.
- She was frigid and strait-laced and therefore somewhat ill-equipped to keep me on the straight and narrow.
- This will help you, both physically and psychologically, to get back on to the straight and narrow.
- You may be able to keep us to the straight and narrow.
a long narrow road the narrow passage between the cottage and the house his narrow bed The stairs were very narrow. a long, narrow band of cloud2narrow escape a situation in which you only just avoid danger, difficulties, or trouble: A woman had a narrow escape yesterday when her car left the road. He was shaken by his narrow escape from death.3narrow victory/defeat/majority/margin etc a victory etc that is only just achieved or happens by only a small amount: The president won a narrow victory in the election. He persuaded a narrow majority of the party to support the government. Scotland eventually won the match by the narrow margin of 5–4.RegisterThe expression a narrow victory/defeat is used mostly in writing. In everyday British English, people often say that someone only just won/lost or, in everyday American English, barely won/lost.4ideas/attitudes a narrow attitude or way of looking at a situation is too limited and does not consider enough possibilities OPP broad: You’ve got a very narrow view of life. Some teachers have a narrow vision of what art is. → narrow-minded5narrow sense/definition a meaning of a word that is exact or limited OPP broad: I use the word ‘neighbour’ in its more precise or narrower sense.6limited limited in range or number of things OPP broad: The company offered only a narrow range of financial services.—narrowness noun [uncountable] → narrowly, narrows, → the straight and narrow at straight3(2)narrow1 adjectivenarrow2 verb
narrownarrow2 ●○○ verb [intransitive, transitive] VERB TABLE
narrow
| Simple Form | ||
| Present | I, you, we, they | narrow |
| he, she, it | narrows | |
| Past | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | narrowed |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have narrowed |
| he, she, it | has narrowed | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had narrowed |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will narrow |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have narrowed |
| Continuous Form | ||
| Present | I | am narrowing |
| he, she, it | is narrowing | |
| you, we, they | are narrowing | |
| Past | I, he, she, it | was narrowing |
| you, we, they | were narrowing | |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have been narrowing |
| he, she, it | has been narrowing | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had been narrowing |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will be narrowing |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have been narrowing |
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- Contractors will narrow the road to two lanes.
- Levin and his editors then narrow down the list to 50 people.
- The gap between the two candidates has narrowed, and they're starting to panic.
- William's eyes narrowed as he looked toward the west.
- But you can narrow the odds of a nasty accident happening in your home by being more safety-conscious.
- In the past month, the unions have narrowed most of their election-year efforts to 28 House races.
- Issues which are not in dispute should be eliminated and the scope of the disagreement narrowed.
- Lawyers said courts in recent years have generally narrowed the copyright protections for software, but the rulings are not uniform.
- Parr's thin, keen face had narrowed, strangely.
- We now need to narrow our focus and concentrate upon the concept of power itself.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY He narrowed his eyes and gazed at the horizon.COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES a fine-bore tube
He narrowed his eyes and gazed at the horizon.· The tree grows in a narrow belt around the western Mediterranean.
a fine-bore tube· Ken was the centre of a small circle of artists and writers.
(=not broad enough)· Many teachers complained that the new curriculum was too narrow.
(=by a small amount)· The goalkeeper was blamed for the team’s narrow defeat.
(=including only a few ideas)· Some psychiatrists still use a very narrow definition of mental illness.
· I could see part of the yard through the narrow entrance.
(=to only just avoid danger or difficulties)· The team had a narrow escape from relegation last season.
· He has a thin face and narrow eyes.
(=partly close them, especially to show that you do not trust someone)· She narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously.
(=become half closed, especially because someone does not trust another person)· Her dark eyes narrowed for a moment.
· Tears rolled down her thin face.
· There’s only a narrow gap between the two candidates in the polls.
(=reduce the amount or importance of a difference)· The book aims to bridge the gap between theory and practice.· The policies are designed to close the gap between rich and poor.
· Polls show the gap between the two candidates has narrowed.
(=a very small majority)· The proposal was passed by a slim majority.
(=not wide)· The margins are very narrow, making the page look cluttered.
(=a very small one)· The proposal passed, but only by a narrow margin.
· A narrow passage led to a small room at the back of the house.
· We walked along a narrow path beside a stream.
· They only had a very limited range of products available.
(=it becomes narrower)· The river narrows at this point.
· After a couple of miles, the road narrows.
· The scope of the research was quite limited.
· He had severely limited the scope of his autobiography.
· Her dark hair spilled over her narrow shoulders.
· Nathan stood in the doorway, filling the narrow space.
· an old city with quaint narrow streets
· She ran down the narrow tunnel leading to the exit.
· The valley becomes narrower at this point.
(=a win by a small amount)· A general election on Oct. 5 produced a narrow victory for the People’s Progressive Party.
(=having a thin, thick etc waist)
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB· But down the years the gap between Mississippi and the rest of the country has narrowed greatly.
· Third, the gap between the gross earnings of manual and non-manual workers has also narrowed slightly during recent years.· His eyes narrowed slightly but he started the second verse in the minor key she was using, following her lead.
NOUN· Now you've narrowed the choice down to more manageable proportions, it's time for the specialist retailer and test fitting.· This will narrow your choice to a smaller hit list of suitable shoes.· Rain narrowed her choice to three pieces.
· Having these skills will not narrow the definition of who my daughter is.
· It doesn't narrow the field very much, does it?· The Lords of the Rings will narrow the field to four, then pick one next year.· It would narrow the field a bit, wouldn't it?· We have already narrowed the field significantly by looking at cassette formats.· That narrows the field down a bit, if it's correct.· Tags have all these functions and more, and only the context can narrow the field in any specific case.· An experienced headhunter could narrow the field down to short-list stage much more quickly and cost-effectively, Tagg argued.
· This narrowing down of the focus of the original control theory seems to constitute a switch of attention from offenders to situations.· There is a narrowing of concern and focus.· We now need to narrow our focus and concentrate upon the concept of power itself.· Both books may help you narrow your focus.· In recent months, Musharraf has narrowed the focus of his sweeping reform agenda as it encountered resistance from various interest groups.· His self-oriented behavior had been neutralized by the work-related commitment of all his colleagues to narrow the strategic focus of the company.· The cast's work is deceptively effortless, slowly accentuating the suspension and narrowing the focus of culpability.· Does the whole conceptual perspective of the Monitor theory narrow down to a focus on filling in the blanks?
· By the final round the gap had narrowed to three votes, with Baburin polling 412 and Khasbulatov 409.· This leads one to ask how the gap can be narrowed.· But when a particular sub-group of workers is taken - assembly line workers - the gap is narrowed.· Trade gap narrows despite cut in invisible earnings.· A route she had been forced to follow, never quite closing the gap, though it narrowed all the time.· When it won its next large majority in 1966, the circulation gap had narrowed to 13 points.· If imported drinks like wine still enjoy much more benign treatment, at least the gap has been somewhat narrowed.
· Companies survived even though their markets and profit margins were narrowing.· Motorola also said its profit margin narrowed to 5. 9 percent in the quarter from 8 percent a year ago.· By early 1986 margins had narrowed.
· Middle-class urban speakers, as we have seen, tend to narrow the extreme range described above.· Future research can be expected to narrow this range and could possibly lead to a value outside the stated range.· We then realized that our costs were too high so we narrowed the range and cut the costs.· I now attempt to narrow and adjust this range of uncertainty.
· Take this turn and after a couple of miles the road narrows incredibly through the hedges and stone houses of the village.· There were three cars be-- hind me, but the road was narrowing from three lanes to two.· She took the left, and the road narrowed.
· In what follows, we shall narrow the scope of the term to something more adapted to the present purpose.· Last year the court narrowed the scope of affirmative action programs that give minorities preference in such matters as employment and education.· Most of the conceptual distinctions which have been used to narrow the scope of such protection have been applied to them.· To avoid receiving a huge list, the user should use good word descriptors to narrow the scope of the search.
· By lunchtime he had narrowed his search down to three out of the dozens of girls missing in the London area.· But HotBot lets you narrow your search using simple pull-down menus and on-screen buttons.· In this way, Barlow initially narrowed her search to 23 craters, and ultimately to two.· If so, narrow your search to books about it.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
1to make something narrower, or to become narrower OPP widen: - She was frigid and strait-laced and therefore somewhat ill-equipped to keep me on the straight and narrow.
- This will help you, both physically and psychologically, to get back on to the straight and narrow.
- You may be able to keep us to the straight and narrow.
He narrowed his eyes and gazed at the horizon. The track divided into two and narrowed.2if a range, difference etc narrows, or if something narrows it, it becomes less OPP widen: The choice of goods available is narrowing. The economic gap between the two halves of the country was beginning to narrow.narrow something ↔ down phrasal verb to reduce the number of things included in a range: The police have narrowed down their list of suspects.narrow down to I’ve narrowed it down to one of two people.