From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishclose up phrasal verb1 close something ↔ upSHUT/CLOSE if a shop or building closes up or is closed up, it stops being open to the public for a period of time The resorts are all closed up for the season.2 close up shop to stop doing something for a period of time or permanently When it rains, there is no alternative but to close up shop.3 NEARif a group of people close up, they move closer together4 CURE close something ↔ upHEALTHY if a wound closes up or if someone closes it up, the edges grow together again or are sewn together The scar is closing up nicely – it’ll soon be time to take the stitches out.5 to become narrower or to shut The flowers close up at night. Occasionally the channel widened then closed up tight again.6 EMOTIONALto refuse to talk to someone about something The moment I said I was a police officer, everyone would close up like a clam. → close→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
close up• Dragging a chair close up to the television screen, she sat down to watch the film.• If you look at the painting close up you can see that it's a fake.close up shop• Finnegan's Bar is closing up shop after 35 years.• Some of the big ad agencies close up shop early for the holidays.• And retailers, caught betwixt the two, were perplexed and losing money, if not closing up shop for good.• At one stage, he considered closing up shop for good.• A few companies closed up shop in California.close-upclose-up /ˈkləʊs ʌp $ ˈkloʊs-/ noun [countable, uncountable] TCPNEARa photograph or part of a film in which the camera seems to have been very close to the picture it tookclose-up of a close-up of her facein close-up Much of the movie is shot in close-up.Examples from the Corpus
close-up• She brought the camera forward to get a close-up of the actor's face.• I want to get a close-up of the children's faces.• The placing of the head in a close-up is important.• Another is a close-up of a mud-encrusted hand reaching back toward a worker at the top of a precarious twig ladder.• I mean, I don't like seeing myself on camera in close-up, but then I never did.• The camera pans over the players as they write, showing each one in close-up.• Each butterfly had been photographed in close-up so that you could see every detail.• I decided not to tell him about my close-up 0f his unguarded sleeping face.• Long and medium shots, rather than close-ups, can hide bags under the eyes.• I rediscovered them on the screen in the close-ups of objects which impressed and influenced me.• It doesn't step outside time, but accentuates its effects and brings them into unbearable close-up.in close-up• Much of the movie is shot in close-up. 