“Close” used as a verb has a different meaning and pronunciation than “close” used as an adjective. As a verb, the “s” in “close” makes a “z” sound; whereas “close” used as an adjective the “s” makes an “s” sound.  

“Close” used as a verb means “To move so as to block passage of something,” according to Merriam-Webster. It is often used as an imperative: 

“Close the door.” 

“Please be sure to close the overhead bin.”  

“Close” used as an adjective has a totally different meaning. According to Merriam-Webster, “close” as an adjective means “being near in time, space, effect or degree.”  So basically, “close” as an adjective is a synonym for “near.” It can also be related to feeling intimate in terms of being personally close to another person, as in, “I feel close to my relatives.” 

Here are some example sentences: 

“The 7-11 is close to Spring Valley Road.” 
(7-11 is the noun which “close” is modifying) 

“You’re close, but you still haven’t finished the assignment.” 
(close is modifying the pronoun “you”) 

What’s amazing is that if you pronounce one of these a little differently, the meaning becomes incomprehensible. If I say, “The 7-11 is close to Spring Valley Road,” pronouncing “close” with the z sound of the verb, you might begin to think I’m saying that 7-11 is closed. 

Meanwhile, I have a personal anecdote which inspired this post about the mispronunciation of “close” used as a verb but with an “s” sound instead of a z sound.

The dentist, who was lovely by the way, but apparently from another country, after doing something to my teeth, told me as I lay on the patient’s seat simply “close” (with an s sound), and her intonation kind of rose at the end of the word, as though it were a question. So I’m thinking she’s asking me, “Am I close?” Close to what? I don’t know. So instead of complying with her and closing (verb) my mouth, I kind of nodded, as though to say, “Yeah, you’re close (adjective).”  

Well, that really got me thinking about the word “close.” 

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