word choice - Close by or nearby?




The cops traced residential address of his relatives who lived close by.



Close up/down, close off, close in are terms well understood, I have not seen such usage of close + by.


Would it be better to write:



The cops traced residential address of his relatives who lived nearby.




Answer




Close by/nearby in the sentence implies "close at hand or adjacent".



near – close: talking about short distances If something is near, near to, or close to a place or thing, it is a short distance from it.


When near and close have this meaning, don't use them immediately in front of a noun. Instead use nearby.



  • He was taken to a nearby hospital.


  • He threw the bag into some nearby bushes.


    Nearby, definitely, is more idiomatic than close by.




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