close to the wind
UK/ˈkləʊs tə‿ðə ˈwɪnd/US/ˈkloʊs tə‿ðə ˈwɪnd/
close to the wind adjective: near a limit of feasibility or compliance with law or morality.
Adjective
close to the wind (comparative closer to the wind, superlative closest to the wind)
- Near a limit of feasibility or compliance with law or morality.
- I mean, I shouldn't be altogether flabbergasted if you were to tell me that there had been tax fiddles here, or even something a bit close to the wind where the play and the girls are concerned.1983, Colin Watson, Six Nuns and a Shotgun, page 167
- Coming on the heels of revelations about financial and property dealings a bit close to the wind in other sections of the Gaullist Party, the authority of the Prime Minister could not but be weakened2000, David S. Bell, Presidential Power in Fifth Republic France, page 116
- Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see close to, the, wind.
Adverb
close to the wind (comparative closer to the wind, superlative closest to the wind)
- In a direction almost opposite to that from which the wind is blowing.
- Near a limit of feasibility or compliance with law or morality.
- Time you want a real good friend is when you're gone just a bit close to the wind, and want to be set right again.1850, F. W. Cukbey., “Against All Odds”, in The Dublin University Magazine, page 306
- Miriam's wordplay was steering fractionally too close to the wind for my liking.2003, Richard K. Morgan, Altered Carbon, page 150
- Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see close to, the, wind.
Forms of close to the wind
| Adjective | |
|---|---|
| comparative | closer to the wind |
| superlative | closest to the wind |
| Adverb | |
| comparative | closer to the wind |
| superlative | closest to the wind |
Origin of close to the wind
See sail close to the wind.
Words that rhyme with close to the wind
Questions about close to the wind
- What does close to the wind mean?
- Close to the wind means near a limit of feasibility or compliance with law or morality.
- What part of speech is close to the wind?
- Close to the wind can be an adjective or an adverb.
- How do you pronounce close to the wind?
- Close to the wind is pronounced /ˈkləʊs tə‿ðə ˈwɪnd/ (UK).
Words near close to the wind in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: close to the wind (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this entry: “close to the wind.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/close_to_the_wind. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.