Narrower

How to spell narrower

8 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce narrower

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does narrower mean?

1. adjectiveComparative of narrow: smaller in width, or more limited in range or scope.

Narrower in a sentence

• The new lane is much narrower than the old road.

• The second survey reached a narrower group of customers.

Where does narrower come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This is the comparative form of 'narrow', which descends from the Old English adjective 'nearu', meaning tight, constricted, or limited in width. That word came from a Germanic root shared with related forms in Old Saxon and Dutch, all carrying the sense of something pinched or pressed close together. The same root lies behind the noun 'nerve' only by coincidence of sound, not origin, so the connection is purely superficial; the truer relative is the word 'narrows', used for a tight stretch of water. Adding the regular '-er' ending forms the comparative, just as it does for 'wider' or 'older', and that doubled 'r' before the suffix is the spot writers must watch, since the base already ends in 'rrow'. The word has kept its everyday meaning of 'less wide' since the earliest English records.

How the word is built

• narrow (from Old English nearu: tight, constricted)
• -er (comparative suffix)