nearest thing, the—said of smth. that is very much like a par ticular type of thing:
- Soho is the nearest thing in Central London to a red light district.
very near thing, a—
1. a dangerous situation that a person just manages to avoid:
- The list of what could have gone badly wrong is a long one. It was certainly a very near thing.
2. said of an election, competition, etc. barely won because of almost equal chances of the contenders:
- “Do you think he’s going to get in?” “It’ll be a very near thing because the opposition will be so strong.”