[1] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

near \near\, a. compar. nearer; superl. nearest. see
   near, adv.
   1. not far distant in time, place, or degree; not remote;
      close at hand; adjacent; neighboring; nigh. "as one near
      death." --shak.
      1913 webster

            he served great hector, and was ever near,
            not with his trumpet only, but his spear. --dryden.
      1913 webster

   2. closely connected or related.
      1913 webster

            she is thy father's near kinswoman.   --lev. xviii.
                                                  12.
      1913 webster

   3. close to one's interests, affection, etc.; touching, or
      affecting intimately; intimate; dear; as, a near friend.
      1913 webster

   4. close to anything followed or imitated; not free, loose,
      or rambling; as, a version near to the original.
      1913 webster

   5. so as barely to avoid or pass injury or loss; close;
      narrow3; as, a near escape; a near miss.
      1913 webster

   6. next to the driver, when he is on foot; in the unted
      states, on the left of an animal or a team; as, the near
      ox; the near leg. see off side, under off, a.
      1913 webster

   7. immediate; direct; close; short. "the nearest way."
      --milton.
      1913 webster

   8. close-fisted; parsimonious. obs. or low, eng.
      1913 webster

   note: near may properly be followed by to before the thing
         approached; but more frequently to is omitted, and the
         adjective or the adverb is regarded as a preposition.
         the same is also true of the word nigh.
         1913 webster

   syn: nigh; close; adjacent; proximate; contiguous; present;
        ready; intimate; familiar; dear.
        1913 webster
see also:
nearer nearest near off side off 

[2] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

near \near\ n=er, adv. as. ne'ar, compar. of ne'ah
   nigh. see nigh.
   1. at a little distance, in place, time, manner, or degree;
      not remote; nigh.
      1913 webster

            my wife my traitress let her not come near me.
                                                  --milton.
      1913 webster

   2. nearly; almost; well-nigh. "near twenty years ago."
      --shak. "near a fortnight ago." --addison.
      1913 webster

            near about the yearly value of the land. --locke.
      1913 webster

   3. closely; intimately. --shak.
      1913 webster

   far and near, at a distance and close by; throughout a
      whole region.

   to come near to, to want but little of; to approximate to.
      "such a sum he found would go near to ruin him."
      --addison.

   near the wind naut., close to the wind; closehauled.
      1913 webster
see also:
nigh far and near to come near to near the wind 

[3] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

near \near\, v. i.
   to draw near; to approach.
   1913 webster

         a speck, a mist, a shape, i wist
         and still it neared, and neared.         --coleridge.
   1913 webster

[4] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

near \near\, prep.
   adjacent to; close by; not far from; nigh; as, the ship
   sailed near the land. see the note under near, a.
   1913 webster
see also:
near 

[5] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

near \near\, v. t. imp.  p. p. neared; p. pr.  vb. n
   nearing. see near, adv.
   to approach; to come nearer; as, the ship neared the land.
   1913 webster
see also:
neared nearing near 

[6] : WordNet (r) 2.0

near
     adj 1: not far distant in time or space or degree or circumstances;
            "near neighbors"; "in the near future"; "they are near
            equals"; "his nearest approach to success"; "a very
            near thing"; "a near hit by the bomb"; "she was near
            tears"; "she was close to tears"; "had a close call"
            syn: close ant: far
     2: being on the left side; "the near or nigh horse is the one
        on the left"; "the animal's left side is its near or nigh
        side" syn: neara, nigha
     3: closely resembling the genuine article; "near beer"; "a
        dress of near satin"
     4: giving or spending with reluctance; "our cheeseparing
        administration"; "very close or near with his money"; "a
        penny-pinching miserly old man" syn: cheeseparing, close,
         penny-pinching
     5: with or in a close or intimate relationship; "a good
        friend"; "my sisters and brothers are near and dear" syn:
         dear, good
     6: very close in resemblance; "sketched in an approximate
        likeness"; "a near likeness" syn: approximate
     adv 1: near in time or place or relationship; "as the wedding day
            drew near"; "stood near the door"; "don't shoot until
            they come near"; "getting near to the true
            explanation"; "her mother is always near"; "the end
            draws nigh"; "the bullet didn't come close"; "don't
            get too close to the fire" syn: nigh, close
     2: of actions or states slightly short of or not quite
        accomplished; `near' is sometimes used informally for
        `nearly' and `most' is sometimes used informally for
        `almost'; "the job is just about done"; "the baby was
        almost asleep when the alarm sounded"; "we're almost
        finished"; "the car all but ran her down"; "he nearly
        fainted"; "talked for nigh onto 2 hours"; "the recording
        is well-nigh perfect"; "virtually all the parties signed
        the contract"; "i was near exhausted by the run"; "most
        everyone agrees" syn: about, just about, almost, most,
         all but, nearly, nigh, virtually, well-nigh
     v : move towards; "we were approaching our destination"; "they
         are drawing near"; "the enemy army came nearer and
         nearer" syn: approach, come on, go up, draw near,
          draw close, come near
see also:
close far neara nigha cheeseparing penny-pinching 
dear good approximate nigh about 
just about almost most all but nearly 
virtually well-nigh approach come on go up 
draw near draw close come near 

[7] : Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0

305 moby thesaurus words for "near":
   about, about to be, abutting, accost, adjacent, adjoining, advance,
   advancing, all but, almost, along toward, already in sight, among,
   angustifoliate, angustirostrate, angustisellate, angustiseptal,
   anticipate, ape, appear like, approach, approaching, appropinquate,
   approximate, approximating, approximative, arm-in-arm, around,
   as good as, aside, at, at close quarters, at hand, at next hand,
   attached, attracted to, avaricious, await, be destined, be fated,
   be imminent, be in store, be like, be redolent of, be to be,
   be to come, bear down on, bear down upon, bear resemblance,
   bear up, beside, bordering on, brew, brewing, bring to mind,
   burning, by, call to mind, call up, cheap, cheek-by-jowl, circa,
   circumscribed, close, close about, close at hand, close by,
   close in, close to, close upon, close with, close-by,
   close-fitting, closefisted, closely, come, come close, come closer,
   come forward, come near, come on, come up, coming, comparable,
   compare with, confined, confront, connected, constricted,
   contiguous, converge, copy, correspond, counterclockwise,
   counterfeit, cramp, cramped, crowded, draw near, draw nigh,
   draw on, drawn to, encounter, equal, evoke, expect, face, familiar,
   fast by, favor, follow, foresee, foretell, forthcome, forthcoming,
   from, future, gain upon, gather, gathering, going to happen,
   hairbreadth, hand and glove, hand-in-hand, hang over, hard,
   hard by, hard on, hardfisted, hereabout, hereabouts, homologous,
   hope, hot, hover, illiberal, imitate, immediate, imminent, impend,
   impendent, impending, in, in danger imminent, in prospect,
   in reserve, in spitting distance, in store, in the cards,
   in the offing, in the wind, in view, incapacious, incommodious,
   inseparable, instant, intimate, isthmian, isthmic, just about,
   larboard, lean towards, left, left-hand, left-wing, left-wingish,
   levorotatory, liberal, lie ahead, lie over, like, limited,
   look for, look forward to, look like, loom, looming, lower,
   lowering, lurking, match, meager, mean, menace, menacing, mimic,
   mirror, miserly, much at one, much the same, narrow,
   narrow the gap, near at hand, near the mark, near to, near upon,
   nearabout, nearabouts, nearby, nearing, nearish, nearly,
   nearly reproduce, nearly the same, next door to, next to,
   niggardly, nigh, nigh about, nighhand, nighish, not far,
   not far from, not quite, not tell apart, on, on the horizon,
   oncoming, only a step, overhang, overhanging, parallel,
   parsimonious, partake of, penny-pinching, penurious, pinchfisted,
   pinching, plan, plot, port, predict, preparing, pretty near,
   project, prophesy, propinque, proximal, proximate, quasi, radical,
   relatable, related, relative, remind one of, resemble, restricted,
   rival, round, same but different, save-all, savor of, scant,
   scanty, seem like, selfish, side-by-side, sidle up to, similar,
   simulate, sinister, sinistral, sinistrocerebral, sinistrocular,
   sinistrogyrate, sinistrorse, slender, smack of, sound like,
   stack up with, step up, stingy, strait, suggest, take after,
   that will be, thereabout, thereabouts, thick, thick as thieves,
   threaten, threatening, tight, tight-fisted, tightfisted, to,
   to come, touch, toward, ungenerous, upcoming, verge on, verging on,
   verging upon, vicinal, virtually, waiting, warm, well-nigh, with,
   within call, within earshot, within hearing, within reach,
   within sight

[8] : Virtual Entity of Relevant Acronyms (Version 1.9, June 2002)

near
     national electronic accounting and reporting
     
     

Near >> N Words
Near, definition of term: Near
near_pag1.html

Near East >> N Words
Near East, definition of term: Near East
near+east_pag1.html

Near By >> N Words
Near By, definition of term: Near By
near+by_pag1.html

Far And Near >> F Words
Far And Near, definition of term: Far And Near
far+and+near_pag1.html