next to vs verging on

next to

prep
  • Beside, alongside, by, adjacent to, or near. 

  • Compared to, in comparison with. 

  • Immediately after, in choice or consideration; aside from. 

adv
  • Almost; nearly, well-nigh. 

verging on

How often have the words next to and verging on occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )