facing vs near

facing

adj
  • Positioned so as to face (in a particular direction) 

  • Diverging in the direction of travel. 

noun
  • Fabric applied to a garment edge on the underside. 

  • A powdered substance, such as charcoal or bituminous coal, applied to the face of a mould, or mixed with the sand that forms it, to give a fine smooth surface to the casting. 

  • The movement of soldiers by turning on their heels to the right, left, or about. 

  • The most external portion of exterior siding. 

  • The collar and cuffs of a military coat, commonly of a different colour from the rest of the coat. 

near

adj
  • On the side nearest to the kerb (the left-hand side if one drives on the left). 

  • Physically close. 

  • So as barely to avoid or pass injury or loss; close; narrow. 

  • Close to anything followed or imitated; not free, loose, or rambling. 

  • Within the currently selected segment in a segmented memory architecture. 

  • Close in time. 

  • Closely connected or related. 

  • Close to one's interests, affection, etc.; intimate; dear. 

  • Approximate, almost. 

adv
  • At or towards a position close in space or time. 

  • Nearly; almost. 

verb
  • To come closer to; to approach. 

prep
  • Close to in time. 

  • Physically close to, in close proximity to. 

  • Close to in nature or degree. 

noun
  • The left side of a horse or of a team of horses pulling a carriage etc. 

How often have the words facing and near occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )