narrow
adj.adj. measuring a small distance from one side to the other. You use this to describe things that are thin or not wide, like a small path or a tight space.
adj. measuring a small distance from side to side in comparison to length. Often used to describe physical spaces, ranges of vision, or limited conceptual scopes.
The car struggled to drive down the narrow street.
The hikers had to walk in a single line because the mountain path was so narrow.
The committee reached a narrow consensus after hours of debate, though several members remained concerned that the scope of the new policy was too limited to be effective.
From Middle English narow, narowe, narewe, narwe, naru, from Old English nearu (“narrow, strait, confined, constricted, not spacious, limited, petty; limited, poor, restricted; oppressive, causing anxiety (of that which restricts free action of body or mind), causing or accompanied by difficulty, hardship, oppressive; oppressed, not having free action; strict, severe”), from Proto-West Germanic naru, from Proto-Germanic narwaz (“constricted, narrow”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ner- (“to turn, bend, twist, constrict”). Cognates Cognate with North Frisian naar, noar, noor, nåår (“narrow”), Saterland Frisian noar (“narrow”), Dutch naar (“nasty, scary; sickening, unpleasant”), Danish and Swedish nor (“narrow strait”); also Sanskrit नृत् (nṛt, “to dance; act on stage, represent”).
From Middle English narwen (“to narrow”); see there for more details, but ultimately derived from the noun.
Typically placed before the noun it modifies or after a linking verb like 'is' or 'seems'.
The street is very thin.The street is very narrow.Learners often use 'thin' for objects that should be described as 'narrow'; 'thin' usually refers to the thickness of a material or a person's body.