The phrase "advanced close to" is not correct and does not convey a clear meaning in written English.
It may be intended to describe something that has progressed or moved near a certain point, but the phrasing is awkward and unclear.
Example: "The project has advanced close to completion, but we still have some final touches to make."
Alternatives: "progressed near" or "moved towards".
SO far, Mr. Jamieson said, the bank had advanced close to 50 million Canadian dollars in housing loans without one foreclosure.
Photograph: Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA Updated at 9.11pm BST 5.28pm BST Summary Jihadi militants, led by Isis, were reported to have advanced close to Baghdad.
The Interior Minister, Mr. Boskovski, has also been criticized for issuing hundreds of weapons to Macedonian Slav reservists in and around Skopje, including some former criminals, since the rebels advanced close to the city.
Colombia's government contends that the FARC, which finances itself through cocaine trafficking and abductions for ransom, has seen its ranks fall from 16,000 members at the start of the decade, when the guerrillas had advanced close to the capital, Bogotá, to between 6,000 and 8,000 now.
IS militants have recently advanced close to the border with Turkey, prompting thousands of Kurdish refugees to cross the border.
Vascular invasion from the metaphysis advanced close to the proliferating (palisading) zone but was still limited to the hypertrophic zone and accompanied by osteoclasts (technically chondroclasts since they were relating only to cartilage) resorbing the matrix.
In taking this series to six games, they advanced closer to the World Series than they had since 1988, when they won it.
Dodd then began talks with Corker in mid-February, and the two have advanced closer to an accord on the remaining issues, sources said.
Israeli radio reports said that tanks and armored vehicles had also advanced closer to Bethlehem, but those reports could not be confirmed.
LONDON — Britain's phone hacking scandal advanced closer to another leading newspaper group on Thursday when Trinity Mirror said the police were investigating whether the company was criminally liable for allegations of "unlawful conduct" by previous employees of the Sunday Mirror tabloid.
Libyan government forces advanced closer to the centre of the strategic town of Sirte on Sunday, but Nato ordered a halt to street fighting so that its planes could locate and destroy artillery loyal to Muammar Gaddafi and under the command of one of his sons.
