I. ˈklōzhə(r) noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin clausura, from clausus (past participle of claudere to close) + -ura -ure — more at close
1.
a. archaic : means of enclosing
formed a closure around a plot of land
b. obsolete : fort
c. obsolete : encircling bounds
within the guilty closure of thy walls — Shakespeare
d. obsolete : a space enclosed
e. civil engineering : a giving of a closed figure when plotted — compare close vi 6
2.
a. obsolete : the action of confining or condition of being confined in an enclosing place
b. : the absence of social mobility in a social group : social self-containment of a group
3.
a. : a bringing to a point of completion
b. cricket : an act or right of declaring an innings closed
c. linguistics : a closed construction — compare close vt 1b (3)
4.
a. : an act of closing up or condition of being closed up
closure of the eyelids
the captain checked the ship's closure for the pending attack
b. : a filling up of a space to seal or render impervious
be sure the container has a tight closure to keep it free from contamination
c. : a drawing together of edges or parts to form a united integument
wound closure by suture immediately after laceration
d. phonetics
(1) : the extent to which an articulation blocks the passage of air
(2) : the outer and the inner closure in a consonant articulation
5.
a. : a means of filling a space or gap especially by sealing it or of closing an opening (as in a garment or luggage): as
(1) : fastener , closing
styled with fly-front closure
pocket with zipper closure
closure buttons for tubular furniture
(2) : closer 2
(3) : a cap, lid, or other form of stopper on or in a container especially for sealing it
b. : the part of a container where the final seal is made
6. archaic : a coming to an agreement
a precipitate closure with this gentleman's proposals — Jane Austen
7.
[translation of French clôture — more at cloture ]
: cloture
8.
a. : the vertical distance between the highest point in a quaquaversal flexure or doubly plunging anticline and the lowest structure-contour line that closes around it
b. Britain : a fold of a close-textured rock over a layer of porous rock to form a trap
9. : a bringing of some activity to a stop
a closure on smoking in the woods during a dry spell
: cessation of operation
closure of foreign-owned industries
10. : a closing with a particular destination on the part of a ship
11. psychology : the perception of incomplete figures or situations as though complete by ignoring the missing parts or by compensating for them by projection based on past experience
II. transitive verb
( closured ; closured ; closuring -zh(ə)riŋ ; closures )
: cloture
debate was closured so the bill could be put to an almost immediate vote
III. noun
1. : the property that a number system or a set has when it is mathematically closed under an operation
2. : a set that consists of a given set together with all the limit points of that set