next to (1) (prep.) 在...的隔壁的;仅次于... （在此 next 也可视为副词）My house is next to the post office.我家在邮局隔壁。/ He sat down next to me. 他坐在我的邻座。/ That is the principal problem next to education. 那是仅次于教育的大问题。/ the largest city next to New York 仅次于纽约的大城市(=the next largest city to New York) / Next to Patricia, she is the tallest woman. 她的身高仅次于帕特丽夏。 (2) (adv.)（用于表否定的词之前）几乎 (almost): It was next to impossible to pass. 几乎不可能通过。/ I bought the shoes for next to nothing. 我买那双鞋几乎没花什么钱。（《英汉多功能词典》新编升级版p.1135）
close to （adv.）(1) (与数字连用) 接近 ...，大约 ... He is close to sixty. 他大约60岁。（2）在附近 I saw her close to. 我在附近见到他。（《英汉多功能词典》新编升级版p.301）
by 表示“（位置）在...旁边，靠近，在...身边”。
