within touching distance

prepositional phrase

Very close.

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Meanings

prepositional phrase
  1. Very close.

    Away they started, lickety-click,” and arrived at the winning-post within touching distance of each other.

    1843, John S. Robb, Streaks of Squatter of Life, and Far-west Scenes, page 116
    2 more examples

    But the journey went on. Slower as the river became more intimate; reeds at the edge almost within touching distance. Waterfowl. A heron stalkily still. Dank lank growth and then the smells of intensive farming.

    1992, Mairi Hedderwick, Highland Journey: A Sketching Tour of Scotland: Retracing the Steps of Victorian Artist John T. Reid, Edinburgh: Canongate Press, →ISBN, page 13

    He will know that, for 70 minutes, United produced arguably their best performance under him as Manuel Ugarte and Diogo Dalot put them within touching distance of a place in the last four.

    2025 April 17, Simon Stone, “Manchester United 5-4 Olympique Lyonnais”, in BBC Sport
Cite this entry
APA

within touching distance. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/within%20touching%20distance

MLA

“within touching distance.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/within%20touching%20distance. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “within touching distance,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/within%20touching%20distance.

Source: within touching distance on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.