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at close range

at close range

25 3.5
Very near to someone or something at a short distance
  • idiom
translation icon : de cerca
  • The black Magic Marker was still on the license plate, and at close range, in broad daylight, it would be visible.
  • photographed at close range
  • observed at close range

I'm not a huge fan of it, but I'll tell you what it does at close range is pretty impressive.

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Examples

  • But at close range, there was far more to be observed on his blunt features.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • Weather had seen Lucas working at close range, as he broke a murder case in her small northern Wisconsin town.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • I could shoot it at close range, right here.

  • Now, for the first time, he had a chance to observe some of them at close range.

    Academic text (1998)
  • I'm not a huge fan of it, but I'll tell you what it does at close range is pretty impressive.

  • I was lying full length on the slope, which, seen at close range, was not white but ochre.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • We're going to put a larger enticement field generator aboard it so we can work at close range.

    Fiction book (2002)
  • The photographer captured stunning details of the butterfly at close range.

  • During the demonstration, the scientist explained the experiment at close range.

  • The player took the shot at close range and scored a goal.

Synonyms

close up
vsat close range
11 2.1

At a very short distance

is the same idea but in a more formal phrasing
stone's throw
vsat close range
10 2.3

A short distance away that is a few minutes' walk

is the same nearness but stated as a description of position

Antonyms

far
1.0

A long way away in space

9 3.8

From far away in place, time, or family connection

How Close

point-blank
28 6.0
at close range
25 3.5
nearby
325 1.0
distance
274 1.1

Surface Forms

at close range positive
at close-range positive

Morphology

at + close + range

The meaning 'from or at a very short distance' is directly derivable from combining 'at' (locative), 'close' (near) and 'range' (distance/extent); the composition yields a clear locative-distance interpretation. This is a common, compositional pattern found across languages, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will readily understand it.

Etymology

At close range comes from hunting and shooting. Imagine a shooter standing near a target: the distance, or range, is very small because the shooter is close, so the action was called 'at close range' and today the phrase means 'very near'.