nearest

247 1.0

At the smallest distance from a place, or almost reaching it

adverb
/ˈnɪrɪst/

: más cercano

My house is the nearest one to the school, making it very convenient.

Examples

Nearest... yes, the nearest beach.

Wheel of Ashes (1968)
Nearest I ever got to pronouncing it was "Boldpate".

House of the Long Shadows (1983)
Nearest the fire sat Alosha, the headman, and Silain, the luthia.

Blog text (9)
MEN LIKE TOM ARE OFTEN QUITE RETICENT ABOUT THINGS THAT AR E NEAREST TO THEIR HEARTS.

Exodus (1960)
The nearest gas station is only a few blocks away from here.
Please take the path that leads to the nearest park for a relaxing walk.

Synonyms

closest

vsnearest

56 1.0

Very near in space or time to another thing

has identical meaning but uses a different word form

proximate

vsnearest

10 7.3

Very near in place, time, order, or relation

is narrower, used mainly for direct physical distance or relation

Antonyms

distant

224 2.8

Far away in space, not near you

farthest

22 1.0

At the greatest distance in space or time

How Close

nearest

247 1.0

nearer

54 1.0

near

∞ 1.0

distant

224 2.8

Surface Forms

nearest positive

nearer comparative

nearest superlative

Morphology

nearest = near (transparent) = near + est

A regular superlative formation from the adjective 'near' using the productive suffix '-est', so the meaning 'most close' is directly derived.

Etymology

The word nearest is the superlative form of near, where the ending -est means 'most' or 'the one that is closest'. So nearest simply means 'closest' in space or relation.