I. next¹ S1 W1 /nekst/ BrE AmE determiner, adjective
1. the next event, day, time etc is the one that happens after the present one, or the previous one:
I just missed my flight to Chicago. When’s the next one?
We’ll look at the proposals at the next meeting.
Over the next couple of months, try to relax more and get more exercise.
next week/year/Monday etc
We’re hoping to open the factory some time next year.
the next day/week etc (=on or during the following day, week etc)
She called me and we arranged to meet the next day.
(the) next time
Next time I go skiing, I’ll wear warmer clothes.
2. the next house, room, place etc is the one that is nearest to where you are now:
Turn left at the next corner.
We could hear them arguing in the next room. ⇨ ↑next to
3. the next person or thing in a list, series etc comes after the one that you are dealing with now:
Read the next two chapters before Friday.
Do they have the next size up (=a slightly bigger size)?
4. next biggest/most common etc almost as big, more common etc than the one you are talking about:
Cancer-related diseases are the next biggest killers.
5. the next best thing the thing or situation that is almost as good as the one you really want:
If I can’t be home for Christmas, phoning you on the day is the next best thing.
6. the next thing I/she etc knew informal used when something surprising happens very suddenly:
The next thing I knew, I was lying face down on the pavement.
7. as the next man/person as any other man or person:
I am as keen to do well as the next man.
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ next happening or coming immediately after another one: When does the next train to London leave? | I’ll see you next Saturday.
▪ following happening or coming immediately after something – used about periods of time, or parts of a piece of writing: We met the following day. | The following weeks passed quickly. | the following pages of the book
▪ subsequent formal happening or coming at some time after something else: the subsequent success of the film | This will be explained in more detail in subsequent chapters. | This figure is expected to rise steeply in subsequent years.
▪ succeeding coming after someone or something else – used about a series of groups of people, periods of time, or parts of a book: succeeding generations | Succeeding governments have made the same mistake. | During the succeeding weeks he wrote several more letters.
▪ coming happening soon: The information will be mailed to members during the coming weeks. | The villagers are storing up wood for the coming winter.
II. next² S1 W1 BrE AmE adverb
1. immediately afterwards:
With John here, you never know what will happen next.
Next, put it in the oven for 20 minutes.
2. the next time:
When I next saw her she completely ignored me.

Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

adjective only before noun
1. (usually with the) coming straight after sb/sth in time, order or space
• The next train to Baltimore is at ten.
• The next six months will be the hardest.
• the next chapter
• Who's next?
• the woman in the next room
• I fainted and the next thing I knew I was in the hospital.

• (informal) Round here, you leave school at sixteen and next thing you know, you're married with three kids.

2. (used without the) ~ Monday, week, summer, year, etc. the Monday, week, etc. immediately following
• Next Thursday is 12 April.
• Next time I'll bring a book.
more at from one day to the next at day, better luck next time at luck _n.
Word Origin:
Old English nēhsta ‘nearest’, superlative of nēah ‘nigh’; compare with Dutch naast and German nächste.
Thesaurus:
next adj. only before noun
• The next train to Baltimore will be at 12.20.
the following • • coming • • future • • later • |especially AmE upcoming • |formal subsequent • • forthcoming • • prospective •
Opp: last, Opp: past
the next/following month/decade/generation
the next event /future/later/upcoming/subsequent/forthcoming events
sb's next/future/later/upcoming/subsequent/forthcoming book/marriage
Which Word?:
next / nearest
(The) next means ‘after this/that one’ in time or in a series of events, places or people: ▪ When is your next appointment? ◊ ▪ Turn left at the next traffic lights. ◊ ▪ Who’s next? (The) nearest means ‘closest’ in space: ▪ Where’s the nearest supermarket?
Notice the difference between the prepositions nearest to and next to: ▪ Janet’s sitting nearest to the window ▪ (= of all the people in the room) ▪. ◊ ▪ Sarah’s sitting next to the window ▪ (= right beside it). In informal BrE nearest can be used instead of nearest to: ▪ Who’s sitting nearest the door?
Example Bank:
• I'm going away next month.
• Next time I'll bring a book.
• Round here, you leave school at sixteen and next thing you know, you're married with three kids.
• The next chapter deals with the post-war situation.
• The woman in the next room was talking in a very loud voice.
• Who's next?

Idiom: next man/woman/person

Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary

Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary - 4th Edition

next / nekst / adjective , pronoun

A1 being the first one after the present one or after the one just mentioned:

Who works in the office next to yours?

Take the next turning on the right.

Who do you think will be the next president?

Nothing really changes around here. One day is pretty much like the next.

(The) next time you want to borrow something, please ask me first.

I'm so busy it's hard to remember what I'm supposed to be doing from one moment to the next.

She's on holiday for the next few days.

You'll have to wait until your next birthday for a new bike.

Can we arrange a meeting for the week after next?

What do you think you'll be doing this time next year?

We had a dreadful argument, but he phoned me the next day (= the day after) to apologize.

Excuse me, it's my turn to be served - I was next.

Collins Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary

Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English.

1.
The next period of time, event, person, or thing is the one that comes immediately after the present one or after the previous one.
I got up early the next morning.
...the next available flight...
Who will be the next prime minister?...
I want my next child born at home...
Many senior citizens have very few visitors from one week to the next...
ORD

2.
You use next in expressions such as next Friday, next day and next year to refer, for example, to the first Friday, day, or year that comes after the present or previous one.
Let’s plan a big night next week...
He retires next January...
Next day the EU summit strengthened their ultimatum.
DET
•
Next is also an adjective.
I shall be 26 years old on Friday next.
ADJ: n ADJ
•
Next is also a pronoun.
He predicted that the region’s economy would grow by about six per cent both this year and next.
PRON

3.
The next place or person is the one that is nearest to you or that is the first one that you come to.
Grace sighed so heavily that Trish could hear it in the next room...
The man in the next chair was asleep...
Stop at the next corner. I’m getting out.
ADJ: det ADJ

4.
The thing that happens next is the thing that happens immediately after something else.
Next, close your eyes then screw them up tight...
I don’t know what to do next...
The news is next.
ADV: ADV with cl, ADV after v, be ADV

5.
When you next do something, you do it for the first time since you last did it.
I next saw him at his house in Berkshire...
When we next met, he was much more jovial.
ADV: ADV before v

6.
You use next to say that something has more of a particular quality than all other things except one. For example, the thing that is next best is the one that is the best except for one other thing.
The one thing he didn’t have was a son. I think he’s felt that a grandson is the next best thing...
At least three times more daffodils are grown than in Holland, the next largest grower.
= second
ADV: ADV adj-superl

7.
You use after next in expressions such as the week after next to refer to a period of time after the next one. For example, when it is May, the month after next is July.
...the party’s annual conference, to be held in Bournemouth the week after next.
PHRASE: n PHR

8.
If you say that you do something or experience something as much as the next person, you mean that you are no different from anyone else in the respect mentioned.
I’m as ambitious as the next man. I’d like to manage at the very highest level.
PHRASE: as group PHR [emphasis]

9.
If one thing is next to another thing, it is at the other side of it.
She sat down next to him on the sofa.
...at the southern end of the Gaza Strip next to the Egyptian border...
The car was parked in the small weedy lot next to the hotel.
= beside
PREP-PHRASE

10.
You use next to in order to give the most important aspect of something when comparing it with another aspect.
Her children were the number two priority in her life next to her career...
= after
PREP-PHRASE

11.
You use next to before a negative, or a word that suggests something negative, to mean almost, but not completely.
Johnson still knew next to nothing about tobacco...
Most pre-prepared weight loss products are next to useless.
= virtually
PHRASE: PHR after v, v-link PHR, PHR nothing/adj

Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary

¹next /ˈnɛkst/ adj
1 : coming after this one : coming after the one that just came, happened, etc.
• the next day [=the day that comes after this day]
• Please turn to the next [=following] page.
• I'll see you next Monday.
• Are you coming this Thursday or next Thursday? [=are you coming on Thursday of this week or Thursday of next week?]
• Next year's party will be even better.
• For the next two years [=two years after this point], she did nothing but eat, sleep, and study.
• 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.
• Next stop, Los Angeles.
• 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.
• in the next life [=in the afterlife; in the life that we may have after death]
• I slipped, and the next thing I knew [=right after that happened], I was lying face up on the ground.
2 : any other
• He said he's as willing to do it as the next man. [=he's as willing as anyone else would be]
• She knew the answer as well as the next person.
next to : almost but not quite
• It's next to [=nearly, practically] impossible to drive in this snow.
• You ate next to nothing at dinner. Aren't you hungry?
• We were next to last in line. [=there was one person or group behind us]
• He finished next to last in the race.
• the next to last day of our vacation [=the day immediately before the last day of our vacation]