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 [=e] ([=e]ve) and [=oo]
(f[=oo]d), etc., from [i^] ([i^]ll) and [oo^] (f[oo^]t),
etc. See Guide to Pronunciation, [sect] 13.
Note: 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.
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.
Near the island lay on one side the jaws of a dangerous
narrow. --Gladstone.
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.