adjacent, near, close by
"The bakery is just nearby, so I stopped in for a fresh croissant on my way to work."
In plain English: Nearby means something that is very close to where you are.
"The store is just nearby, so we walked there easily."
Usage: Use nearby as an adjective to describe something located very close or immediately adjacent to a specific place, such as a nearby park. It functions similarly to words like close-by but specifically modifies nouns to indicate short physical distance.
not far away in relative terms
"she works nearby"
"the planets orbiting nearby are Venus and Mars"
next to, close to
"The new coffee shop is nearby, just around the corner from my apartment."
In plain English: Nearby means something is very close to where you are right now.
"The small shop is right nearby."
Usage: Use nearby as an adverb when describing something that exists at a very short distance from a specific location or person. It functions correctly in sentences like "The store is nearby" to indicate proximity without needing a preposition before it.
The word nearby comes from Middle English ner-bi, which literally meant "close beside." It traveled into modern usage as a straightforward combination of the words for "near" and "by.