next to

next to idiom
  1. Adjacent to, as in The car next to mine has a flat tire, [Late 1300s]
  2. Following in order or degree, as in Next to skiing, she likes hiking. [Early 1500s]
  3. Almost, practically, as in It's next to impossible to predict the outcome, or I earned next to nothing last year. [Second half of 1600s]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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