1
: immediately adjacent (as in place, rank, or time)
2
: any other considered hypothetically
knew it as well as the next man
see also next to nothing
: nearest or adjacent to
1
: in the time, place, or order nearest or immediately succeeding
next we drove home
the next closest school
2
: on the first occasion to come
when next we meet
: one that is next
from one day to the next
Synonyms
Examples of next in a Sentence
Adjective
I'll see you next Monday.
Next year's party will be even better.
the very next thing that happened
Can I help the next person in line? Who's next?
We could hear people talking in the next room.
At the next set of lights, turn left.
I need the next size up.
The next time we will see each other will be on our wedding day.
Next time, please remember to bring your books to class.
She knew the answer as well as the next person.
Adverb
Next, I need to ask you a few questions about your family.
Recent Examples on the Web
The Enquirer, 15 Apr. 2024
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Fort Wayne, Indiana, are already dealing with a surplus of rain this month, with more than a dozen river gauges already at minor flood stage even before the next round of rain arrives.
—Mary Gilbert, CNN, 15 Apr. 2024
Recently, Playboi Carti fans impatiently waiting for his next album dropped an entire fake Carti project with AI vocals.
—Andre Gee, Rolling Stone, 15 Apr. 2024
Wonder what the next Custom Line 140 will look like?
—Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 15 Apr. 2024
Lawmakers were outraged that Microsoft was charging the government extra for such a basic feature, and Biden administration officials spent the next two and a half years privately urging Microsoft to make log data free for all customers.
—Eric Geller, WIRED, 15 Apr. 2024
There are also plans to shutter 30 Dollar Tree locations after the leases expire over the next few years.
—Jenn Harris, Los Angeles Times, 15 Apr. 2024
What time is the next Powerball lottery drawing in Arizona?
—The Arizona Republic, 15 Apr. 2024
More:Daughter resists driving mom to church More:Job shopper asks for frequent references
While Timothy might believe that this is a generous statement, it is expressed with the same personal connection a person might have toward scheduling their next dental appointment.
—Amy Dickinson, Detroit Free Press, 4 Apr. 2024
Amrita Khalid, The Verge, 13 Apr. 2024
The rate increase is expected to be approved after the ordinance receives its second reading next month.
—Ishani Desai, Sacramento Bee, 13 Apr. 2024
That likely will happen at their spring meetings next month in the Phoenix area.
—Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Apr. 2024
The council also recommended that the California Fish and Game Commission close down inland fishing for salmon on the state’s rivers at a meeting next month.
—Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 11 Apr. 2024
More than 200 million people are within driving range of the upcoming eclipse the letter noted, highlighting the potential for out-of-the-ordinary traffic safety issues next week.
—Eric D. Lawrence, Detroit Free Press, 5 Apr. 2024
Angelina Jolie, Regina King, and a movie about Donald Trump could be major Academy Awards contenders next year.
—Joey Nolfi, EW.com, 4 Apr. 2024
School officials in Indiana are looking forward to class without the buzz of cellphones next school year.
—Kirsten Adair, NPR, 3 Apr. 2024
April is just around the corner, meaning new titles will arrive on Disney’s streaming platform next month.
—Monica Mercuri, Forbes, 30 Mar. 2024
Amy Taxin, Fortune, 17 Apr. 2024
Questions have swirled in the Missouri Capitol about what the committee will do next.
—Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 17 Apr. 2024
Louisville Metro Council's Labor, Economic Development, and Appropriations Committee tabled discussion of the TIF ordinance at its April 16 meeting and is next set to meet May 7.
—Matthew Glowicki, The Courier-Journal, 17 Apr. 2024
The Lyrids will next peak between April 21 to 22 this year and is active from April 15 to 29.
—Alex Groth, Journal Sentinel, 16 Apr. 2024
In came Nicky Rothschild Hilton in a flowing floral chiffon look from the label; next came Ivy Getty in a semi-sheer diamanté encrusted dress.
—Lilah Ramzi, Vogue, 15 Apr. 2024
Although most of Iran’s missiles were intercepted by Israel, according to Israeli military officials, GasBuddy’s De Haan remains hesitant about what could happen to gas prices next.
—Shaun Goodwin, Idaho Statesman, 15 Apr. 2024
And there’s something quite exciting about the celebrity not being able to prepare anything, not knowing what’s going to come next.
—K.j. Yossman, Variety, 5 Apr. 2024
Among those who believe in NATO’s mission, there is deep fear about what comes next.
—John Hudson, Washington Post, 4 Apr. 2024
Lia Assimakopoulos, Dallas News, 8 Mar. 2023
So bouncing from one tone and genre to the next creates a whiplash effect, even though some of the episodes — that fourth one in particular — are quite good.
—Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 15 Mar. 2023
The numbers are higher globally: One-quarter of consumers intend to buy an EV next.
—Stephen Wilmot, WSJ, 11 Mar. 2022
Because the multi-racial categories are relatively new to the census and have changed since they were introduced, an apples-to-apples comparison of data collected from one census year to the next becomes complicated, if not impossible.
—Hannah Drown, cleveland, 21 Aug. 2021
Your organization should have a plan for how to manage the alarm in the foreseeable future — in the new next.
—Curtis Odom, Forbes, 7 June 2021
For so many others, there is no longer a something-to-do-next.
—Ai Weiwei, The Atlantic, 2 June 2020
The liminal spaces that represent transitions between one point in time and the next are needed even more today, during turmoil and stay-at-home orders caused by the coronavirus, say proponents.
—oregonlive, 28 Apr. 2020
On Thursday, one plane after the next was landing at an American Airlines facility in Tulsa.
—David Gelles, New York Times, 25 Mar. 2020
Adjective
That office completed autopsies of their bodies over the next three days and released them to the Rhoden and Gilley families.
—The Enquirer, 15 Apr. 2024
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Fort Wayne, Indiana, are already dealing with a surplus of rain this month, with more than a dozen river gauges already at minor flood stage even before the next round of rain arrives.
—Mary Gilbert, CNN, 15 Apr. 2024
Recently, Playboi Carti fans impatiently waiting for his next album dropped an entire fake Carti project with AI vocals.
—Andre Gee, Rolling Stone, 15 Apr. 2024
Wonder what the next Custom Line 140 will look like?
—Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 15 Apr. 2024
Lawmakers were outraged that Microsoft was charging the government extra for such a basic feature, and Biden administration officials spent the next two and a half years privately urging Microsoft to make log data free for all customers.
—Eric Geller, WIRED, 15 Apr. 2024
There are also plans to shutter 30 Dollar Tree locations after the leases expire over the next few years.
—Jenn Harris, Los Angeles Times, 15 Apr. 2024
What time is the next Powerball lottery drawing in Arizona?
—The Arizona Republic, 15 Apr. 2024
More:Daughter resists driving mom to church More:Job shopper asks for frequent references
While Timothy might believe that this is a generous statement, it is expressed with the same personal connection a person might have toward scheduling their next dental appointment.
—Amy Dickinson, Detroit Free Press, 4 Apr. 2024
Preposition
Samsung is planning to bring select Galaxy AI features to several older flagship phones and tablets next month via the One UI 6.1 update, according to 9to5Google and Android Central, both of which referred to a post from a Samsung representative who posted on the company’s community forum in Korea.
—Amrita Khalid, The Verge, 13 Apr. 2024
The rate increase is expected to be approved after the ordinance receives its second reading next month.
—Ishani Desai, Sacramento Bee, 13 Apr. 2024
That likely will happen at their spring meetings next month in the Phoenix area.
—Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Apr. 2024
The council also recommended that the California Fish and Game Commission close down inland fishing for salmon on the state’s rivers at a meeting next month.
—Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 11 Apr. 2024
More than 200 million people are within driving range of the upcoming eclipse the letter noted, highlighting the potential for out-of-the-ordinary traffic safety issues next week.
—Eric D. Lawrence, Detroit Free Press, 5 Apr. 2024
Angelina Jolie, Regina King, and a movie about Donald Trump could be major Academy Awards contenders next year.
—Joey Nolfi, EW.com, 4 Apr. 2024
School officials in Indiana are looking forward to class without the buzz of cellphones next school year.
—Kirsten Adair, NPR, 3 Apr. 2024
April is just around the corner, meaning new titles will arrive on Disney’s streaming platform next month.
—Monica Mercuri, Forbes, 30 Mar. 2024
Adverb
Doug Freitas, an almond grower who owns property in areas governed by three different groundwater agencies, said each agency has been talking about what to do next.
—Amy Taxin, Fortune, 17 Apr. 2024
Questions have swirled in the Missouri Capitol about what the committee will do next.
—Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 17 Apr. 2024
Louisville Metro Council's Labor, Economic Development, and Appropriations Committee tabled discussion of the TIF ordinance at its April 16 meeting and is next set to meet May 7.
—Matthew Glowicki, The Courier-Journal, 17 Apr. 2024
The Lyrids will next peak between April 21 to 22 this year and is active from April 15 to 29.
—Alex Groth, Journal Sentinel, 16 Apr. 2024
In came Nicky Rothschild Hilton in a flowing floral chiffon look from the label; next came Ivy Getty in a semi-sheer diamanté encrusted dress.
—Lilah Ramzi, Vogue, 15 Apr. 2024
Although most of Iran’s missiles were intercepted by Israel, according to Israeli military officials, GasBuddy’s De Haan remains hesitant about what could happen to gas prices next.
—Shaun Goodwin, Idaho Statesman, 15 Apr. 2024
And there’s something quite exciting about the celebrity not being able to prepare anything, not knowing what’s going to come next.
—K.j. Yossman, Variety, 5 Apr. 2024
Among those who believe in NATO’s mission, there is deep fear about what comes next.
—John Hudson, Washington Post, 4 Apr. 2024
Noun
One sport to the next sees what the other has done and wants some of the same stuff.
—Lia Assimakopoulos, Dallas News, 8 Mar. 2023
So bouncing from one tone and genre to the next creates a whiplash effect, even though some of the episodes — that fourth one in particular — are quite good.
—Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 15 Mar. 2023
The numbers are higher globally: One-quarter of consumers intend to buy an EV next.
—Stephen Wilmot, WSJ, 11 Mar. 2022
Because the multi-racial categories are relatively new to the census and have changed since they were introduced, an apples-to-apples comparison of data collected from one census year to the next becomes complicated, if not impossible.
—Hannah Drown, cleveland, 21 Aug. 2021
Your organization should have a plan for how to manage the alarm in the foreseeable future — in the new next.
—Curtis Odom, Forbes, 7 June 2021
For so many others, there is no longer a something-to-do-next.
—Ai Weiwei, The Atlantic, 2 June 2020
The liminal spaces that represent transitions between one point in time and the next are needed even more today, during turmoil and stay-at-home orders caused by the coronavirus, say proponents.
—oregonlive, 28 Apr. 2020
On Thursday, one plane after the next was landing at an American Airlines facility in Tulsa.
—David Gelles, New York Times, 25 Mar. 2020
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'next.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Adjective
Middle English, from Old English nīehst, superlative of nēah nigh — more at nigh
First Known Use
Adjective
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Preposition
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above
Adverb
14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Noun
15th century, in the meaning defined above
Time Traveler
The first known use of next was
before the 12th century
Phrases Containing next
Dictionary Entries Near next
Cite this Entry
“Next.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/next. Accessed 20 Apr. 2024.
Copy Citation
Kids Definition
next
1 of 3 adjective
: coming immediately before or following
the next page
the house next to ours
next
2 of 3 preposition(ˈ)nekst
next
3 of 3 adverbˈnekst
1
: in the nearest time, place, or order following
open this package next
2
: at the first time to come after this
when next we meet
More from Merriam-Webster on next
Nglish: Translation of next for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of next for Arabic Speakers
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