narrow

adjective

/ˈnærəʊ/

(comparative narrower, superlative narrowest)

Idioms

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measuring a short distance from one side to the other, especially in relation to length
- Stray dogs wander the steep narrow lanes of the old town.
- The road soon became narrower and steeper.
- a narrow bed/doorway/shelf
- Tall narrow windows admit only slivers of light.
- narrow shoulders/hips
- There was only a narrow gap between the bed and the wall.
- Farming is confined to a narrow strip of land between the mountains and the sea.
- (figurative) the narrow confines of prison life
opposite broad, wide
Extra Examples
- The pass gets quite narrow towards the east.
- The rear part of the casing is slightly narrower than the front.
- I sat next to him on the narrow bed.
- The jacket looked very large across his narrow shoulders.
- (figurative) The producer has a narrow window each year to implement changes.
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
verbs
- be
- look
- seem
- …
adverb
- extremely
- fairly
- very
- …
See full entry
[usually before noun] only just achieved or avoided
- a narrow victory
- She was elected by a narrow majority.
- He had a narrow escape when his car skidded on the ice.
- He lost the race by the narrowest of margins.
Extra Examples
- He blamed the goalkeeper for the narrow defeat against Ireland.
- He secured a narrow victory in the presidential elections.
Topics Successb2
limited in variety or numbers synonym restricted
- The shop sells only a narrow range of goods.
- She only has a narrow circle of friends.
- The exhibition is disappointingly narrow in scope.
opposite wide
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
verbs
- be
- seem
- become
- …
adverb
- extremely
- fairly
- very
- …
preposition
- in
See full entry
limited in a way that ignores important issues or the opinions of other people
- narrow interests
- She has a very narrow view of the world.
- I found the focus of the debate too narrow.
opposite broad
Extra Examples
- Teachers feel that the present curriculum is too narrow.
- His specialization is too narrow to be of interest to more than a handful of students.
- people who are rather narrow in outlook
- The party has a rather narrow political agenda.
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
verbs
- be
- seem
- become
- …
adverb
- extremely
- fairly
- very
- …
preposition
- in
See full entry
limited in meaning; exact
- I am using the word ‘education’ in the narrower sense.
opposite broad

Word OriginOld English nearu, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch naar ‘dismal, unpleasant’ and German Narbe ‘scar’. Early senses in English included ‘constricted’ and ‘mean’.

Idioms

the straight and narrow

(informal) the honest and morally acceptable way of living
- His wife is trying to keep him on the straight and narrow.

narrow

verb

/ˈnærəʊ/

[intransitive, transitive]

Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they narrow	/ˈnærəʊ/ /ˈnærəʊ/
he / she / it narrows	/ˈnærəʊz/ /ˈnærəʊz/
past simple narrowed	/ˈnærəʊd/ /ˈnærəʊd/
past participle narrowed	/ˈnærəʊd/ /ˈnærəʊd/
-ing form narrowing	/ˈnærəʊɪŋ/ /ˈnærəʊɪŋ/

Phrasal Verbs

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to become or make something less wide
- This is where the river narrows.
- Her eyes narrowed (= almost closed) menacingly.
- narrow to something His eyes narrowed to slits.
- narrow something He narrowed his eyes at her.
Extra Examples
- Her eyes narrowed against the sun.
- Her eyes narrowed in anger.
- Her eyes narrowed slightly as she studied the woman.
- His blue eyes narrowed suspiciously.
- His eyes narrowed with suspicion.
- His eyes suddenly narrowed at the sight of her.
- Lee's eyes narrowed against the harsh glare of the sun.
- Left untreated, the arteries will gradually narrow, restricting the flow of blood.
- The blue eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
- The river narrows a little here.
- Though her eyes narrowed fractionally, she made no comment.
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adverb
- slightly
- suddenly
- dangerously
- …
preposition
- against
- at
- in
- …
See full entry
to become or make something more limited in range or extent
- The gap between the candidates has narrowed significantly.
- The company has narrowed the gap between premium and discount brands.
- We need to try and narrow the health divide between rich and poor.
- The author has chosen to narrow her focus on particular areas.
- The gap between the two teams has narrowed to three points.
Extra Examples
- By the final round the gap had narrowed to three votes.
- After the initial interviews, we narrowed the field to three finalists.
- The gap between the two parties narrowed sharply in the days before the election.
- The trade deficit with China narrowed slightly.

Word OriginOld English nearu, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch naar ‘dismal, unpleasant’ and German Narbe ‘scar’. Early senses in English included ‘constricted’ and ‘mean’.