Phrase · B2 · Neutral · useful for decisions and investigations
narrow down
NAIR-oh DOWN Stress the first syllable of narrow; down carries the phrasal emphasis.
Reduce a range of choices or possibilities to a smaller number.
suziti izbor; smanjiti broj mogućnosti
Use it
Knowing our budget helped us narrow down the options.
One constraint removes unsuitable choices.
There were twelve possible dates, but we narrowed them down to two.
To introduces the remaining set; them goes before down.
Build the sentence
narrow down + choices · narrow + list + down to + smaller set · narrow it down
Memory scene
A table full of keys becomes a group of three candidates. You have fewer possibilities, even before finding the right key.
Watch out
Narrowing down need not produce a single final answer. Say narrow it down to three, not narrow down it on three. The object is a range, list, search, or set of possibilities, not usually an amount of spending.
Nearby language
Means select a small set of candidates for further consideration.
Emphasizes establishing something exactly rather than merely reducing possibilities.
Means eliminate a particular possibility; doing so can help narrow down the set.
Make it yours
Uporedili ste deset hotela i u izboru su ostala samo dva koja odgovaraju budžetu.