closed in on vs closed in

Both phrases are correct, but they are used in different contexts. 'Closed in on' is used to indicate approaching or surrounding someone or something, while 'closed in' is used to describe being enclosed or confined within a space.

Last updated: March 29, 2024 • 929 views

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English to indicate approaching or surrounding someone or something.

"closed in on"

This phrase is used when someone or something is moving closer to a target or surrounding it. It implies a sense of narrowing the distance or enclosing the target.

Examples:

The police closed in on the suspect.
The lion closed in on its prey.
The storm closed in on the coastal town.
The enemy troops closed in on the fortress.
The deadline is closing in on us.

Show examples from the web [+]

I closed in on a member of Lilith's entourage.
The world closed in on you till there was only Harper.
Instead, I'm closed in on myself.
Mai came back here, the darkness closed in on the storefront.
While Beckett and the boys closed in on the killer, I had been to the gutter like yesterday's trash.
So when the police closed in on you two nights ago, you trampled his face in a effort to obscure them.
The U. S. had its best chance in late November of 2001, when elements of both Afghan and American forces closed in on Osama's mountain hideout.
As Emerson and the pie maker closed in on the killer wish maker, the wish maker had already found her next snowman.
It is decisive that the Union should have institutions that are stronger than the resistance put up by those Member States that are still closed in on themselves, defending anachronistic prerogatives and vain national pretensions.
Strengthening the competitiveness of the European defence industry, which is supposedly damaged by European markets that are too narrow and too closed in on themselves, has served as a pretext for this Directive on the opening up to competition of public contracts in this sector.
If Europe has become more selfish and closed in on itself, it is our duty to make it more generous and open.
The adoption of my report on the single procedure for granting a residence permit and a work permit formally refutes the unfounded accusations of a number of heads of state of Africa and Latin America about a 'fortress Europe' which is closed in on itself.
Our joy soon turned to tears until the sea closed in on us.
So when the police closed in on you two nights ago, you trampled his face in a effort to obscure them.
These figures do not take into account the European Agency for Reconstruction, which was closed in 2008, and on the last discharge of which we will vote today, or rather at a later date in Brussels.
In closed environments, on the other hand, radon can accumulate and reach high concentrations.
On the West Coast - we were patching her in on closed circuit.
The Commission would also remind the Honourable Member that the call for proposals for projects to be undertaken in 2004 closed on 30 October 2003 for annual projects and on 14 November 2003 for multiannual projects.
Will these opinions lead their own lives until 2004 when the Council will once more shut itself away behind closed doors in marathon negotiations on a new treaty?
In January 2012 he decided to transfer former Presidential candidate and opposition activist N. Statkevich to a closed-type prison in Mogilov on the mere basis of alleged violations of the rules of imprisonment in Shklov penal colony IK-17.

Alternatives:

approached
surrounded
neared

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English to describe being enclosed or confined within a space.

"closed in"

This phrase is used when referring to being enclosed or confined within a space, such as a room or a building. It implies a sense of being shut in or restricted.

Examples:

The room was closed in and stuffy.
I felt closed in by the tall walls.
The cave was dark and closed in.
She hated feeling closed in by the crowd.
The small office felt closed in.

Show examples from the web [+]

The account was closed in '98.
As a comparison, the last fistula hospital in the United States closed in 1886.
Colleano's could be closed in a month's time.
Moreover, Slovakia informed the Commission that the existing terminal of Intrans in Žilina would be closed in the near future.
My eyes were closed in that photo.
We will be closed in a giant coffin.
As a comparison, the last fistula hospital in the United States closed in 1886.
As I said earlier, Ernie's closed in 1999.
The ballroom was closed in '89.
I understood Graystark Hall was closed in '67.
Haradinaj's case was closed in 2008 and reopened in 2010.
The Viking Centre in the premises subsequently closed in February 2002 and the property has lain derelict since.
The Alcatraz prison was closed in 1963.
The Solidarity Fund operation was closed in April 2007.
Our families are closed in their selfishness
I can disclose the name of the clinic but it closed in 2000.
Greenpeace suggested that BE's nuclear plants be closed in a phased process.
Witnesses state that you refused to leave his bedside even as Stannis's army closed in.
The European Council which closed in Brussels last Saturday followed the same instinct.
In 179 cases closed in 2010 a positive outcome was obtained.

Alternatives:

enclosed
confined
hemmed in

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closed in on vs closed in

"closed in on"

"closed in"

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