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Distinguishing the usage of Nearly, Nearby and Near in English

What do Nearly, Nearby and Near mean? How do these words differ? In the article below, PREP will share the concepts, usage, and differences between the three words Nearly, Nearby and Near!

Differences of 3 words Nearly, Nearby and Near in English

I. What is Nearby?
1. 1. Definition
2. 2. Words/phrases associated with Nearby
II. What is Near?
1. 1. Definition and usage
2. 2. Idioms and Phrase with Near
III. What is Nearly?
IV. Differences between Nearly, Nearby and Near
V. Exercises to distinguish Nearly, Nearby and Near
1. 1. Exercise
2. 2. Answer

I. What is Nearby?

Before distinguishing between Nearly, Nearby and Near, let’s explore the concept and usage of Nearby!

1. Definition

"Nearby" is pronounced /ˌnɪrˈbaɪ/ and functions as both an adjective and an adverb, meaning: not far away in distance; close.

Nearby acts as an adverb: For example: I noticed a policeman standing nearby.
Nearby acts as an adjective: For example: We stopped at some nearby shops to buy some food.

Note: "Nearby" is not used as a preposition; instead, we use "Near." For example:

John worked in a restaurant near the station. ✅
John worked in a restaurant nearby the station. ❌

2. Words/phrases associated with Nearby

Words/phrases associated with Nearby	Example
nearby delivery	We offer nearby delivery for all online orders.
graze nearby	The cows graze nearby in the fields during the day.
nearby attraction	The nearby attraction is a popular historical museum.
nearby city	We visited a nearby city for the weekend getaway.
nearby district	The nearby district offers a variety of dining options.
nearby gym	I signed up at a nearby gym to make workouts easier.
nearby hospital	The nearby hospital provides excellent emergency care.
nearby hotel	We stayed at a nearby hotel during our vacation.
nearby house	My friend recently moved into a nearby house.
nearby island	We took a ferry to explore the nearby island.
nearby lake	Going to the nearby lake is ideal for a peaceful afternoon.
nearby park	The kids love playing at the nearby park.
nearby pub	We had a drink at the nearby pub after work.

II. What is Near?

To accurately distinguish between Nearly, Nearby and Near, let’s understand the concept and usage of Near!

1. Definition and usage

"Near" is pronounced /nɪr/ and functions as an adverb, adjective, verb, preposition, and prefix, meaning: not far away in distance; not far away in time.

Near acts as an adverb. For example: Is there a restaurant near here?
Near acts as an adjective. For example: Where's the nearest post office?
Near acts as a verb For example: I'm pleased to say the project is nearing completion.
Near acts as a preposition. For example: We couldn’t park anywhere near the theater.
Near acts as prefix. For example: We had a near-disaster this morning in the car!

2. Idioms and Phrase with Near

Idioms and Phrase with Near	Meaning	Example
near at hand	If something is near at hand, it is near enough to you for you to reach it	With the deadline near at hand, we need to work faster to finish the project.
near beer	beer that contains little or no alcohol	Since Jimmy’s avoiding alcohol, he chose to drink near beer at the party.
near-peer	used to describe communication or activity between people or organizations that are very similar or nearly equal	The mentor program pairs students with near-peers who have recently navigated similar challenges.
near post	the goalpost that is closest to the ball when it is kicked towards the goal	The striker made a quick move to the near post to receive the pass and score.
near-term	relating to what will happen soon and not what will happen further in the future	Our near-term goals include launching the new product by the end of the quarter.
near money	an asset such as a government bond or money kept in a bank, which can easily be turned into cash	Investments like savings accounts and government bonds are considered near money.
near enough	almost	The answer is near enough to be considered correct, even if it's not exact.
near field communication (NFC)	the ability of electronic devices, magnetic strips, etc. to send and receive information over short distances, for example two or three centimetres	The store accepts payments through near field communication using your smartphone.
near-death experience	an experience described by some people who have been close to death, in which the person feels as if they have left their body and are watching themselves from above	Anna described her near-death experience as life-changing and deeply spiritual.
nowhere near	not close in distance, time, amount, or quality	The performance was nowhere near what we expected; it fell short of our goals.
near the knuckle	about sex and therefore likely to offend people	Jack’s joke was near the knuckle, and it made some people uncomfortable.
in the near future	at a time that is not far away	We plan to make several changes in the near future to improve our operations.

III. What is Nearly?

To accurately distinguish between Nearly, Nearby and Near, let’s explore the concept, usage, and synonyms of Nearly!

1. Definition

"Nearly" is pronounced /ˈnɪr.li/ and functions as an adverb. The Nearly meaning is: almost, or not completely. For example:

It's been nearly three months since my last haircut.
I've nearly finished that book you lent me.

2. Synonyms with Nearly

Synonyms with Nearly	Example
almost	Emi has almost completed her degree, with just a few credits left to finish.
near	We are near the end of the project, with only a few tasks remaining.
about	The book is about 200 pages long, so it's not too lengthy.
all but	The concert tickets are all but sold out; there are only a few left.
well-nigh	The conditions were well-nigh impossible to endure, with extreme temperatures and heavy winds.
come within an inch of	The car came within an inch of hitting the pedestrian, but fortunately, no one was hurt.
on the verge of	The company is on the verge of launching a groundbreaking new product.

3. Idioms and Phrase with Nearly

Idioms and Phrase with Nearly	Meaning	Example
not nearly as/so	a lot less	The movie was not nearly as exciting as I had expected; it was rather dull.
nearly die of something	to feel a particular feeling extremely strongly	I nearly died of embarrassment when I realized I had been speaking with spinach in my teeth all day.
not nearly enough	much less than you want or need	The funding provided was not nearly enough to cover all the expenses for the project.
nearly fall off your chair	to be extremely surprised	I nearly fell off my chair when I heard the unexpected news of the company’s acquisition.
nearly have a heart attack	to be extremely surprised or shocked	I nearly had a heart attack when I saw the damage to my car after the accident.

IV. Differences between Nearly, Nearby and Near

Let’s distinguish Nearly, Nearby and Near with PREP below!

Nearly, Nearby vs Near	Nearby	Near	Nearly
Part of speech	Adjective and adverb	Adverb, adjective, verb, preposition, and prefix	Adverb
Meaning	Indicating close proximity in space.	Indicating closeness, but not necessarily immediate; can be used for both spatial and temporal distances.	Indicating almost achieving something, but not entirely; specifies the degree of closeness to something.
Example	There is a nearby café where we can get coffee.	The restaurant is located near the park.	I nearly missed the train this morning.

V. Exercises to distinguish Nearly, Nearby and Near

To better understand the usage and differences between Nearly, Nearby and Near, let’s complete the exercises below with PREP!

1. Exercise

Exercise 1: Fill in the blanks: Nearly or Nearby or Near

The hotel is situated just ______ the beach, making it very convenient for guests.
I was ______ running out of time to finish the project.
We found a ______ café where we could sit and chat.
The concert hall is ______ the city center, so it's easy to get to.
Ann has ______ completed her thesis, just a few edits left.

Exercise 2: Choose the correct answer.

1. Hey, guys! Is there any hotel _________?

A. near

B. nearby

C. nearly

2. We must find a _________ garage to have our car repaired right now.

A. near

B. nearby

C. nearly

3. That ex-champion was _________unbeatable until this young boxer appeared.

A. near

B. nearby

C. nearly

4. It took them _________ ten hours to make the kite.

A. near

B. nearby

C. nearly

5. The gentleman sat _________ to the lady and smiled at her strangely

A. near

B. nearby

C. nearly

2. Answer

Exercise 1	Exercise 2
near nearly nearby near nearly	B B C C A

Above, PREP has shared the concepts, usage, and differences between Nearly, Nearby and Near. Keep following PREP for more useful and interesting English knowledge!

Master Tu Pham

Founder/CEO at Prep

Founder of Prep Smart Test Preparation Platform. With over 10 years of experience in teaching and test preparation, Mr. Tú has helped thousands of students achieve high scores in the IELTS exam. In addition, Mr. Tú Phạm is also a consulting expert in British Council programs and a speaker at many leading educational events, programs, and conferences.