Narrow — Defs

01 a. Of little breadth; not wide or broad; having little distance from side to side; as, a narrow board; a narrow street; a narrow hem.

1.
Of little breadth; not wide or broad; having little distance from side to side; as, a narrow board; a narrow street; a narrow hem.
“Hath passed in safety through the narrow seas.” — Shak.
2.
Of little extent; very limited; circumscribed.
“The Jews were but a small nation, and confined to a narrow compass in the world.” — Bp. Wilkins.
3.
Having but a little margin; having barely sufficient space, time, or number, etc.; close; near{5}; -- with special reference to some peril or misfortune; as, a narrow shot; a narrow escape; a narrow miss; a narrow majority.
4.
Limited as to means; straitened; pinching; as, narrow circumstances.
5.
Contracted; of limited scope; illiberal; bigoted; as, a narrow mind; narrow views.
6.
Parsimonious; niggardly; covetous; selfish.
“A very narrow and stinted charity.” — Smalridge.
7.
Scrutinizing in detail; close; accurate; exact.
“But first with narrow search I must walk round This garden, and no corner leave unspied.” — Milton.
8.
Formed (as a vowel) by a close position of some part of the tongue in relation to the palate; or (according to Bell) by a tense condition of the pharynx; -- distinguished from wide; as ē (ēve) and o͞o (fo͞od), etc., from ĭ (ĭll) and o͝o (fo͝ot), etc. See Guide to Pronunciation, §13.(Phon.)

Phrases & compounds

Narrow gauge — See Note under Gauge, n., 6.

02 n. A narrow passage; esp., a contracted part of a stream, lake, or sea; a strait connecting two bodies of water; -- usually in the plural; as,…

pl. Narrows

1.
A narrow passage; esp., a contracted part of a stream, lake, or sea; a strait connecting two bodies of water; -- usually in the plural; as, The Narrows of New York harbor.
“Near the island lay on one side the jaws of a dangerous narrow.” — Gladstone.

03 v. t. To lessen the breadth of; to contract; to draw into a smaller compass; to reduce the width or extent of.

imp. & p. p. Narrowed; p. pr. & vb. n. Narrowing

1.
To lessen the breadth of; to contract; to draw into a smaller compass; to reduce the width or extent of.
2.
To contract the reach or sphere of; to make less liberal or more selfish; to limit; to confine; to restrict; as, to narrow one's views or knowledge; to narrow a question in discussion.
“Our knowledge is much more narrowed if we confine ourselves to our own solitary reasonings.” — I. Watts.
3.
To contract the size of, as a stocking, by taking two stitches into one.(Knitting)

04 v. i. To become less broad; to contract; to become narrower; as, the sea narrows into a strait.

1.
To become less broad; to contract; to become narrower; as, the sea narrows into a strait.
2.
Not to step out enough to the one hand or the other; as, a horse narrows.(Man.)
3.
To contract the size of a stocking or other knit article, by taking two stitches into one.(Knitting)