narrow

(năr'ō)
adj., -row·er, -row·est.

1. Of small or limited width, especially in comparison with length.
2. Limited in area or scope; cramped.
3. Lacking flexibility; rigid: narrow opinions.
4. Barely sufficient; close: a narrow margin of victory.
5. Painstakingly thorough or attentive; meticulous: narrow scrutiny.
6. Linguistics. Tense.

v., -rowed, -row·ing, -rows.

v.tr.

1. To reduce in width or extent; make narrower.
2. To limit or restrict: narrowed the possibilities down to three.

v.intr.
To become narrower; contract.

n.

1. A part of little width, as a pass through mountains.
2. narrows (used with a sing. or pl. verb)
   1. A body of water with little width that connects two larger bodies of water.
   2. A part of a river or an ocean current that is not wide.

[Middle English narwe, from Old English nearu.]

narrowish nar'row·ish adj.
narrowly nar'row·ly adv.
narrowness nar'row·ness n.

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adjective

1. Affording little room for movement: close, confining, cramped, crowded, snug, tight. See tighten/loosen.
2. Not broad or elevated in scope or understanding: limited, little, narrow-minded, petty, small, small-minded. See limited/unlimited, wide/narrow.
3. Having the restricted outlook often characteristic of geographic isolation: insular, limited, local, narrow-minded, parochial, provincial, small-town. See limited/unlimited.

verb

To make smaller or narrower: constrict, constringe. See tighten/loosen, wide/narrow.

Idioms beginning with narrow:
narrow escape

In addition to the idiom beginning with narrow, see straight and narrow.

adj

Definition: cheap, stingy
Antonyms: generous, spendthrift, wasting

adj

Definition: confined, restricted
Antonyms: broad, generous, liberal, unconfined, unrestricted, wide

adj

Definition: intolerant, small-minded
Antonyms: accepting, broad-minded, liberal, tolerant

v

Definition: reduce, simplify
Antonyms: broaden, complicate, expand, increase, intensify

IN BRIEF: Of small width.

I first set my eyes on sweet Molly Malone, As she wheeled her wheelbarrow through streets broad and narrow, Crying, Cockles and mussels! alive, alive, oh! — from Cockles and Mussels, Oxford Song Book.

LearnThatWord.com is a free vocabulary and spelling program where you only pay for results!

Dreaming about being in a narrow space can simply reflect the feeling that one has restricted options in some situation in one's waking life. Can also represent a "narrow escape," "narrow-mindedness," or "the straight and narrow."

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For a list of words related to narrow, see:

• Small, short, or thin
• Foolish, Immature, Bigoted, or Trivial

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See words rhyming with "narrowish."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Narrow.

Dansk (Danish)
adj. - snæver, smal, snæversynet, smålig
v. tr. - indsnævre
v. intr. - indsnævres
n. - snævring, snævert farvand

idioms:

• narrow boat    kanalbåd, pram
• narrow circumstances    trange kår
• narrow down    begrænse, indskrænke
• narrow gauge    smal sporvidde
• narrow money    vurdering af likviditet
• narrow shave    undgå med nød og næppe
• narrow squeak    undgå med nød og næppe

Nederlands (Dutch)
smal, nauwsluitend, beperkt, nauwkeurig, karig, bekrompen, klein, krap, beperken, smaller maken, minderen (breien), zich vernauwen, engte

Français (French)
adj. - étroit, de justesse, restreint, limité, faible (une marge), étroit (un vêtement)
v. tr. - limiter, restreindre, réduire, rétrécir
v. intr. - se rétrécir, se resserrer, plisser (les yeux), se réduire (à), se limiter (à)
n. - goulet (npl)

idioms:

• narrow boat    (GB) péniche
• narrow circumstances    dans la gêne
• narrow down    se limiter, se réduire, réduire (à), limiter (à)
• narrow gauge    à voie étroite
• narrow money    (Fin) évaluation (des liquidités)
• narrow shave    (GB) échapper belle
• narrow squeak    (GB) échapper belle

Deutsch (German)
v. - beschränken, einengen, sich verengen, sich verschmälern
n. - Enge, Meerenge
adj. - schmal, eng, knapp, beschränkt, engstirnig, gründlich

idioms:

• narrow boat    besonders schmales Binnenschiff
• narrow circumstances    beschränkte Verhältnisse, Armut
• narrow down    einengen, reduzieren
• narrow gauge    Schmalspur
• narrow money    Einschätzung der Liquidität, abgegrenzte Geldmenge
• narrow shave    knappes Davonkommen
• narrow squeak    knappes Davonkommen

Ελληνική (Greek)
v. - στενεύω
n. - στενό, στενωπός
adj. - στενός, περιορισμένου εύρους, στενόχωρος, προσεκτικός, ελάχιστος

idioms:

• narrow boat    (Βρετ.) (στενό) σκάφος για χρήση σε κανάλια
• narrow circumstances    φτώχεια, ανέχεια
• narrow down    περιορίζω, εντοπίζω, εστιάζω
• narrow gauge    σιδηροτροχιά στενού μετατροχίου
• narrow money    (οικον.) χρήμα υπό τη στενότερη έννοια, κυκλοφορούν χαρτονόμισμα
• narrow shave    ξεγλίστρημα, διαφυγή, σκαπουλάρισμα
• narrow squeak    ξεγλίστρημα, διαφυγή, σκαπουλάρισμα

Italiano (Italian)
restringere, restringersi, stretto, gretto, stretti

idioms:

• narrow boat    barca da canali
• narrow circumstances    ristrettezze
• narrow down    centrarsi
• narrow gauge    a scartamento ridotto
• narrow squeak    scappatoia

Português (Portuguese)
v. - estreitar, tornar mesquinho
n. - estreito (m), desfiladeiro (m), braço (m) de mar
adj. - estreito, mesquinho, minucioso, insuficiente, tenso

idioms:

• narrow boat    bote estreito
• narrow circumstances    pobreza
• narrow down    reduzir
• narrow gauge    de bitola estreita
• narrow squeak    escapar por pouco

Русский (Russian)
сужать, свести, сузиться, узкий пролив, узкий, тесный, ограниченный

idioms:

• narrow boat    баржа
• narrow circumstances    стесненные обстоятельства
• narrow down    сузиться, уменьшиться, сужать, ограничивать
• narrow gauge    узкоколейный
• narrow squeak    только-только отделаться

Español (Spanish)
adj. - estrecho, angosto, ceñido, ajustado, de miras estrechas, escaso, reducido
v. tr. - estrechar, angostar, reducir, limitar, encoger
v. intr. - estrecharse, angostarse, encogerse, menguar, reducirse a
n. - paso estrecho, pasaje angosto, estrecho

idioms:

• narrow boat    barcaza de canal
• narrow circumstances    pobreza, estrechez económica
• narrow down    reducir, limitar
• narrow gauge    de vía estrecha, de miras estrechas
• narrow money    liquidez monetaria
• narrow shave    salvarse por un pelo
• narrow squeak    escapar por un pelo

Svenska (Swedish)
v. - minskas, bli trång, smalna av, dra ihop sig
n. - trångt farvatten, gatt, trångt pass
adj. - smal, trång, knapp, snäv, ensidig, trångsynt, noggrann, ingående, dial. snål

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
狭窄的, 有限的, 精密的, 使变窄, 缩小, 限制, 变窄, 狭窄部分, 隘路, 海峡

idioms:

• narrow boat    运河船
• narrow circumstances    生活拮据
• narrow down    缩小到..., 减少到...
• narrow gauge    铁路狭轨, 窄片
• narrow shave    幸幸的脱险
• narrow squeak    九死一生的脱险, 勉强成功

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
adj. - 狹窄的, 有限的, 精密的
v. tr. - 使變窄, 縮小, 限制
v. intr. - 變窄
n. - 狹窄部分, 隘路, 海峽

idioms:

• narrow boat    運河船
• narrow circumstances    生活拮据
• narrow down    縮小到..., 減少到...
• narrow gauge    鐵路狹軌, 窄片
• narrow shave    倖幸的脫險
• narrow squeak    九死一生的脫險, 勉強成功

한국어 (Korean)
adj. - 옹색한, 폭이 좁은, 가까스로의
v. tr. - 좁히다, 가늘게 하다
v. intr. - 좁아지다, 가늘어 지다
n. - (도로)좁은 부분, 해협

idioms:

• narrow down    요점에만 국한하다

日本語 (Japanese)
adj. - 狭い, 細い, 限られた, 狭量な, 綿密な, かろうじての
v. - 狭くする, 細くする, 制限する, 絞る
n. - 瀬戸, 海峡, 狭いところ

idioms:

• narrow boat    危険な仕事
• narrow circumstances    貧困状態
• narrow down    範囲を狭める
• narrow gauge    狭軌
• narrow squeak    危機一髪

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(فعل) يضيق, يتقلص (الاسم) ممر ضيق, مضيق, الشيء الضيق (صفه) ضيق, هزيل, دقيق, ضيق الافق‏

עברית (Hebrew)
adj. - ‮צר, מצומצם, צר-אופק, קפדני, מוגבל‬
v. tr. - ‮הצר, כיווץ‬
v. intr. - ‮הצטמצם, נעשה צר‬
n. - ‮ברבים: מיצר, רצועת מים, מעבר או רחוב צר‬

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