English
open
Pronunciation
  • (RP) enPR: ō'pən, IPA: /ˈəʊ.pən/
  • (America) enPR: ō'pən, IPA: /ˈoʊ.pən/
Adjective

open

  1. (not comparable) Not closed
    1. able to be accessed
    2. able to have something pass through or along it.
      Turn left after the second open door.
      • 1908, Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows, Chapter 2
        The open road, the dusty highway […]
    3. (of a body part) not covered, showing what is inside
      It was as if his body had gone to sleep standing up and with his eyes open.
  2. Not physically drawn together, closed, folded or contracted; extended
    an open hand; an open flower
    • Each, with open arms, embraced her chosen knight.
  3. (not comparable) Actively conducting or prepared to conduct business.
    Banks are not open on bank holidays.
  4. (comparable) Receptive.
    I am open to new ideas.
    • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), imprinted at London: By Robert Barker, […], OCLC 964384981 ↗, Acts 19:38 ↗:
      Wherefore if Demetrius […] have a matter against any man, the law is open and there are deputies.
    • c. 1596–1599, William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Fourth, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358 ↗, [Act V, scene ii]:
      The service that I truly did his life, / Hath left me open to all injuries.
  5. (not comparable) Public
    He published an open letter to the governor on a full page of the New York Times.
    • c. 1597, William Shakespeare, “The Merry VViues of VVindsor”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358 ↗, [Act I, scene iii]:
      His thefts were too open.
    • 1667, John Milton, “Book III”, in Paradise Lost. A Poem Written in Ten Books, London: Printed [by Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […] [a]nd by Robert Boulter […] [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], OCLC 228722708 ↗; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: The Text Exactly Reproduced from the First Edition of 1667: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, OCLC 230729554 ↗:
      That I may find him, and with secret gaze / Or open admiration him behold.
  6. (not comparable) Candid, ingenuous, not subtle in character.
    The man is an open book.
    • 1731-1735, Alexander Pope, Moral Essays
      with aspect open, shall erect his head
    • c. 1603–1604, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Othello, the Moore of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358 ↗, [Act I, scene iii]:
      The Moor is of a free and open nature.
    • 1705 (revised 1718), Joseph Addison, Remarks on Several Parts of Italy
      The French are always open, familiar, and talkative.
  7. (mathematics, logic, of a formula) Having a free variable.
  8. (mathematics, topology, of a set) Which is part of a predefined collection of subsets of X, that defines a topological space on X.
  9. (graph theory, of a walk) Whose first and last vertices are different.
  10. (computing, not comparable, of a file, document, etc.) In current use; mapped to part of memory.
    I couldn't save my changes because another user had the same file open.
  11. (business) Not fulfilled.
    I've got open orders for as many containers of red durum as you can get me.
  12. Not settled or adjusted; not decided or determined; not closed or withdrawn from consideration.
    an open question
    to keep an offer or opportunity open
    your account will remain open until we receive final settlement.
  13. (music, stringed instruments) Of a note, played without pressing the string against the fingerboard.
  14. (music, wind instruments) Of a note, played without closing any finger-hole, key or valve.
  15. Not of a quality to prevent communication, as by closing waterways, blocking roads, etc.; hence, not frosty or inclement; mild; used of the weather or the climate.
    an open winter
  16. (law) (Of correspondence) Written or sent with the intention that it may made public or referred to at any trial, rather than by way of confidential private negotiation for a settlement. (Opposite of "without prejudice")
    ''You will observe that this is an open letter and we reserve the right to mention it to the judge should the matter come to trial.
  17. (phonetics) Uttered with a relatively wide opening of the articulating organs; said of vowels.
  18. (phonetics) Uttered, as a consonant, with the oral passage simply narrowed without closure.
  19. (phonetics, of a syllable) That ends in a vowel; not having a coda.
  20. (computing, education) Made public, usable with a free licence and without proprietary components.
  21. (medicine) Resulting from an incision, puncture or any other process by which the skin no longer protects an internal part of the body.
Synonyms Antonyms Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations
  • German: offen
  • Russian: откры́тый
Verb

open (opens, present participle opening; past and past participle opened)

  1. (transitive) To make something accessible or allow for passage by moving from a shut position.
    Turn the doorknob to open the door.
  2. (transitive) To make (an open space, etc.) by clearing away an obstacle or obstacles, in order to allow for passage, access, or visibility.
    He opened a path through the undergrowth.
  3. (transitive) To bring up, broach.
    I don't want to open that subject.
  4. (transitive) To enter upon, begin.
    to open a discussion
    to open fire upon an enemy
    to open trade, or correspondence
    to open a case in court, or a meeting
  5. (transitive) To spread; to expand into an open or loose position.
    to open a closed fist
    to open matted cotton by separating the fibres
    to open a map, book, or scroll
  6. (transitive) To make accessible to customers or clients.
    I will open the shop an hour early tomorrow.
  7. (transitive) To start (a campaign).
    Vermont will open elk hunting season next week.
  8. (intransitive) To become open#Adjective|open.
    The door opened all by itself.
  9. (intransitive) To begin conducting business.
    The shop opens at 9:00.
  10. (intransitive, cricket) To begin a side's innings as one of the first two batsmen.
  11. (intransitive, poker) To bet before any other player has in a particular betting round in a game of poker.
    After the first two players fold, Julie opens for $5.
  12. (transitive, intransitive, poker) To reveal one's hand.
    Jeff opens his hand revealing a straight flush.
  13. (computing, transitive, intransitive, of a file, document, etc.) To load into memory for viewing or editing.
  14. (obsolete) To disclose; to reveal; to interpret; to explain.
    • 1622, Francis Bacon, The History of the Reign of King Henry the Seventh
      The king opened himself to some of his council, that he was sorry for the earl's death.
    • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), imprinted at London: By Robert Barker, […], OCLC 964384981 ↗, Jeremiah 20:12 ↗:
      Unto thee have I opened my cause.
Synonyms Antonyms Translations Translations
  • Italian: toccare
  • Portuguese: abrir
  • Russian: поднима́ть
Translations Translations Translations
  • French: ouvrir
  • German: sich öffnen
  • Portuguese: abrir
  • Russian: открыва́ться
  • Spanish: abrir
Translations Noun

open (plural opens)

  1. (with the) Open or unobstructed space; an exposed location.
    I can't believe you left the lawnmower out in the open when you knew it was going to rain this afternoon!
    Wary of hunters, the fleeing deer kept well out of the open, dodging instead from thicket to thicket.
  2. (with the) Public knowledge or scrutiny; full view.
    We have got to bring this company's corrupt business practices into the open.
  3. (electronics) A defect in an electrical circuit preventing current from flowing.
    The electrician found the open in the circuit after a few minutes of testing.
  4. A sports event in which anybody can compete
    the Australian Open
Translations Translations Translations
  • French: omnium sportif
  • Portuguese: aberto
  • Spanish: open


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