close quarters
14
5.4
- noun
:
espacio reducido
- In the small cabin, it felt like we were living in close quarters with no privacy at all.
- such close quarters
That includes living in close quarters, sharing things like food and drinks, and kissing.
- That includes living in close quarters, sharing things like food and drinks, and kissing.
- Have you ever wanted a movie theater like experience in close quarters?
- But you know, we we we were in close quarters and I thought this tour we need bigger rooms.
- Hate, you know, it makes you brave in a close quarters gunfight.
- Courage in a gunfight and close quarters gunfight and war, conflict, you have to have courage.
- Global listeners, forced listeners, pumps has had it with your ass rubbing, the ass rubbing, especially in close quarters like at a Starbucks.
- If I'm not clearing rooms and I'm not in close quarters then I would probably shoot AC group or ACC grip all day long.
Examples
-
I think about what could happen in close quarters if Captain Dog comes back for another round.
Blog text (29) -
The draft did, indeed, bring different people together into very close quarters.
Academic text (1992) -
All right, it's better than being caught in close quarters with one of those things.
-
It's close quarters in here.
-
I must say that living with them at close quarters has given me a new respect for American students.
Academic text (1990) -
It's a brutal fight in close quarters with no escape.
Fiction book (1994) -
It's good that our stay in these close quarters nears its end.
-
After that, Manny began to get used to the sounds of human existence crammed into such close quarters.
Fiction book (1990) -
NY is cluttered; the city is filled with close quarters and small connected apartments.
Blog text (3) -
For the first three months, Gary, I, and our fourteen fellow crewmembers had lived in close quarters aboard the space riggers' ship.
Fiction book (2001)
Synonyms
58
1.0
Near each other with very little space between them
25
3.5
Very near to someone or something at a short distance
Antonyms
How Crowded
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is directly compositional: 'close' (near) modifying 'quarters' (living or working spaces) yields the idea of spaces that are near one another — i.e. cramped or with limited room. This follows a straightforward adjective + noun pattern that a B1 learner who knows both words can readily infer.
Etymology
The phrase close quarters comes from the old use of quarters to mean rooms or living space and close meaning near, so when soldiers or sailors lived or fought in very small, near rooms they were literally in close quarters. That's why close quarters now means being crowded or 'uncomfortably near' other people.