Nar"row , v. i. 1. To
become less broad; to contract; to become narrower; as, the sea
narrows into a strait.
2. (Man.) Not to step out enough to the
one hand or
the other; as, a horse
narrows. Farrier's Dict.
3. (Knitting) To contract the size of a stocking or other knit article, by taking two stitches into one.
Nar"row , v. t. [imp. & p. p. Narrowed (?);
p. pr. & vb. n.
Narrowing.]
[AS.
nearwian.] 1. To lessen the breadth of; to contract; to draw into
a smaller compass; to reduce the
width or extent of. Sir W. Temple.
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. (Knitting) To contract the size of, as a stocking, by taking two
stitches into one.
Nar"row (?), n.;
pl. Narrows (&?;). 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.
Nar"row (?), a.
[Compar. Narrower (?);
superl. Narrowest.]
[OE. narwe, naru, AS.
nearu; akin to OS. naru, naro.] 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; -- with special reference to some peril or
misfortune; as, a narrow shot; a narrow escape; a narrow majority. Dryden.
4. Limited as to means; straitened; pinching; as, narrow circumstances.
5. Contracted; of limited scope; illiberal; bigoted; as, a
narrow mind; narrow views. "A narrow understanding." Macaulay.
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. (Phon.) 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 &oomac; (f&oomac;d), etc., from &ibreve; (&ibreve;ll)
and &oocr; (f&oocr;t), etc. See Guide to Pronunciation, §
13.
&fist; Narrow is not unfrequently prefixed to words,
especially to participles
and adjectives, forming
compounds of obvious signification; as, narrow-bordered, narrow- brimmed, narrow-breasted, narrow-edged, narrow- faced, narrow-headed, narrow-leaved, narrow- pointed, narrow-souled, narrow-sphered, etc.
Narrow gauge. (Railroad) See Note under Gauge, n.,
6.
Hear it pronounced