lengthen in time; cause to be or last longer; "We prolonged our stay"; "She extended her visit by another day"; "The meeting was drawn out until midnight"
lengthen or extend in duration or space; "We sustained the diplomatic negotiations as long as possible"; "prolong the treatment of the patient"; "keep up the good work"
a tight feeling in some part of the body; "he felt a constriction in her chest"; "she felt an alarming tightness in her chest"; "emotion caused a constriction of his throat"
tight or narrow compression
a narrowing that reduces the flow through a channel
a wrestling hold in which the arms are pressed against the opponent's windpipe
complete power over a person or situation; "corporations have a stranglehold on the media"; "the president applied a chokehold to labor disputes that inconvenienced the public"
the momentary present; "Now is a good time to do it"; "it worked up to right now"
used to preface a command or reproof or request; "now hear this!"; "now pay attention"
at the present moment; "goods now on sale"; "the now-aging dictator"; "they are now abroad"; "he is busy at present writing a new novel"; "it could happen any time now"
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events; "President Kennedy now calls in the National Guard"; "Washington now decides to cross the Delaware"; "the ship is now listing to port"
in the immediate past; "told me just now"
(prefatory or transitional) indicates a change of subject or activity; "Now the next problem is..."
termination of operations; "they regretted the closure of the day care center"
a Gestalt principle of organization holding that there is an innate tendency to perceive incomplete objects as complete and to close or fill gaps and to perceive asymmetric stimuli as symmetric
a rule for limiting or ending debate in a deliberative body
terminate debate by calling for a vote; "debate was closured"; "cloture the discussion"
any backward region that is isolated from the world and resists progress
a body of water that was created by a flood or tide or by being held or forced back by a dam; "the bayous and backwaters are breeding grounds for mosquitos"