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# nigh

«nigh» in Mova's school dictionary: **near, either in place or in time: «The end is nigh»** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

adverb (nigh); adjective (nigh, old: nigher, nighest); preposition (nigh)

### meaning for a pupil

1) (old) Nigh means near, either in place or in time: «The end is nigh». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/nigh/#m1)

2) Nigh on or well nigh means almost or nearly: «It took nigh on an hour». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/nigh/#m2)

3) (UK, dialect) Some people in parts of England still use «nigh» in everyday speech for near. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/nigh/#m3)

### sense in the lessons

Mostly in old stories, poems, the Bible and fairy tales, or in jokey speech. Phrases: «the end is nigh», «well nigh impossible», «nigh on», «draw nigh».

### examples

- The end is nigh! shouted the man with the sign. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/nigh/#x1)
- Winter is drawing nigh. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/nigh/#x2)
- It was well nigh impossible to see in the fog. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/nigh/#x3)
- We waited nigh on two hours for the bus. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/nigh/#x4)
- (Bible) «The kingdom of God is nigh at hand.» [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/nigh/#x5)
- The knight rode nigh to the castle. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/nigh/#x6)
- Bedtime is nigh, so brush your teeth. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/nigh/#x7)
- Grandad says it's nigh on ten miles to the coast. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/nigh/#x8)
- After running seven miles or so, Pinocchio was well-nigh exhausted. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/nigh/#x9)

### note

Say «nye», rhymes with «sky». The gh is silent, as in «night» and «high». Old-fashioned; in normal writing use «near» or «nearly». In maths problems, «nigh on 50» means almost 50, a bit less.

### In the corpora

- [And henceforth the children of Israel shall not come nigh the tent of meeting, lest they bear sin, and die.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/torah/jps/NUM.694/)
- [And it shall be, when ye draw nigh unto the battle, that the priest shall approach and speak unto the people,](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/torah/jps/DEU.543/)
- [When thou drawest nigh unto a city to fight against it, then proclaim peace unto it.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/torah/jps/DEU.551/)
- [But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/torah/jps/DEU.848/)
- [So Joab and the people that were with him drew nigh unto the battle against the Arameans; and they fled before him.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/neviim/jps/2SA.258/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «nigh» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/nigh/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.