2 COLOUR Something that is navy or navy-blue is very dark blue. □ I mostly wore black or navy trousers. □ …a navy-blue blazer.
nay /ne I /
1 ADV You use nay in front of a stronger word or phrase which you feel is more correct than the one you have just used and helps to emphasize the point you are making. [FORMAL , EMPHASIS ] □ Long essays, nay, whole books have been written on this.
2 CONVENTION Nay is sometimes used to mean 'no' when talking about people voting against something or refusing to give consent for something. □ Will rural communities be able to say yea or nay to such proposals?
3 CONVENTION Nay is an old-fashioned, literary, or dialect word for 'no'. [FORMULAE ]
Nazi ◆◇◇ /nɑː tsi/ (Nazis )
1 N‑COUNT The Nazis were members of the right-wing political party, led by Adolf Hitler, which held power in Germany from 1933 to 1945.
2 ADJ You use Nazi to say that something relates to the Nazis. □ …the rise of the Nazi Party. □ …the Nazi occupation of the Channel Islands.
Na|zism /nɑː ts I zəm/ N‑UNCOUNT Nazism was the political ideas and activities of the German Nazi Party.
NB /e n biː / You write NB to draw someone's attention to what you are about to say or write. □ NB The opinions stated in this essay do not necessarily represent those of the Church of God Missionary Society.
NCO /e n siː oʊ / (NCOs ) N‑COUNT An NCO is a soldier who has a fairly low rank such as sergeant or corporal. NCO is an abbreviation for 'non-commissioned officer'. □ Food for the ordinary Soviet troops and NCOs was very poor.
SUFFIX -nd
is added to written numbers ending in 2, except for numbers ending in 12, in order to form ordinal numbers. For example, 22nd February is day number 22 in the month of February.
NE NE is a written abbreviation for north-east . □ …on the NE outskirts of Bath.
ne|an|der|thal /niæ ndə r tɑːl, -θɔːl/ (neanderthals )
1 ADJ [ADJ n] Neanderthal people lived in Europe between 35,000 and 70,000 years ago. □ Neanderthal man was able to kill woolly mammoths and bears. ● N‑COUNT [usu pl] You can refer to people from the Neanderthal period as Neanderthals .
2 ADJ [usu ADJ n] If you describe people's, especially men's, ideas or ways of behaving as Neanderthal , you disapprove of them because they are very old-fashioned and uncivilized. [DISAPPROVAL ] □ It is a peculiarity of modern sport that so many coaches persist in a Neanderthal approach.
3 N‑COUNT If you call a man a neanderthal , you disapprove of him because you think he behaves in a very uncivilized way. [DISAPPROVAL ] □ …drunken neanderthals.
near ◆◆◆ /n I ə r / (nearer , nearest , nears , nearing , neared )
1 PREP If something is near a place, thing, or person, it is a short distance from them. □ Don't come near me. □ Her children went back every year to stay in a farmhouse near the cottage. □ He drew his chair nearer the fire. □ Some of the houses nearest the bridge were on fire. ● ADV [ADV after v, be ADV ] Near is also an adverb. □ [+ to ] He crouched as near to the door as he could. □ She took a step nearer to the barrier. □ As we drew near, I saw that the boot lid was up. ● ADJ [ADJ n] Near is also an adjective. □ He collapsed into the nearest chair. □ Where's the nearest phone? □ The nearer of the two barges was perhaps a mile away. ● near|ness N‑UNCOUNT [usu with poss] □ He was suddenly aware of his nearness.
2 PHRASE If someone or something is near to a particular state, they have almost reached it. □ After the war, the company came near to bankruptcy. □ The repairs to the machine were near to completion. □ Apart from anything else, he comes near to contradicting himself. ● PREP Near means the same as near to . □ He was near tears. □ We are no nearer agreement now than in the past.
3 PHRASE If something is similar to something else, you can say that it is near to it. □ …a sickening sensation that was near to nausea. ● PREP Near means the same as near to . □ Often her feelings were nearer hatred than love.
4 ADJ You describe the thing most similar to something as the nearest thing to it when there is no example of the thing itself. □ It would appear that the legal profession is the nearest thing to a recession-proof industry.
5 ADV [ADV after v, be ADV ] If a time or event draws near , it will happen soon. [WRITTEN ] □ The time for my departure from Japan was drawing nearer every day.
6 PREP If something happens near a particular time, it happens just before or just after that time. □ Performance is lowest between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m., and reaches a peak near midday. □ I'll tell you nearer the day.
7 PREP You use near to say that something is a little more or less than an amount or number stated. □ …to increase manufacturing from about 2.5 million cars a year to nearer 4.75 million.
8 PREP You can say that someone will not go near a person or thing when you are emphasizing that they refuse to see them or go there. [EMPHASIS ] □ He will absolutely not go near a hospital. □ I'm so annoyed with her that I haven't been near her for a week.
9 ADJ The near one of two things is the one that is closer. □ …a mighty beech tree on the near side of the little clearing. □ Jane put one foot in the near stirrup and turned to look at the stranger.