I. ˈōpən, esp before consonants -p ə m adjective
( opener -p(ə)nə(r) ; openest -p(ə)nə̇st)
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English; akin to Old High German offan open, Old Norse opinn; all from a prehistoric North Germanic-West Germanic past participle of a verb derived from the root of Old English ūp up
1. : so arranged or governed as to permit ingress, egress, or passage: as
a. : having no enclosing or confining barrier : free from fences, boundaries, or other restrictive margins
an open village
the open moor
b.
(1) : adjusted in a position that permits passage : not shut or fast
an open door
these open gates
(2) : having a movable barrier so adjusted
the house is open
c.
(1) : not stopped by a finger
the four open strings of a violin
(2) : unstopped by the hand or by a mute
open horn
(3) : produced by an open string or on a wind instrument by the lip without the use of slides, valves, or keys
open tone or note
(4) : having clarity and resonance unimpaired by undue tension or constriction of the throat
an open vocal tone
2.
a. : completely free from concealment : exposed to general or particular perception or knowledge
now lay open all your plans
an open ballot
open total war
b. : free from reserve or pretense : natural, forthright, and free : not concealing or intended to conceal one's thoughts or actions
very open about his plans
open and uninhibited in speech
a very open manner
3.
a. : having no roof, lid, or other covering
an open boat
b. : having no protective or concealing cover : bare , naked
open wiring
laying the arm open to the bone
c.
(1) obsolete , of the face : uncovered , unabashed
(2) : not covered with wool or enshrouding hair
a ewe with an open face
d. : lacking some immaterial protection : liable , subject
open to infection
open to challenge
e.
(1) : not covered, enclosed, or scabbed over
an open lesion
an open running ulcer
(2) : not involving or encouraging a covering (as by bandages or overgrowth of tissue) or enclosure
open treatment of burns
(3) : shedding the infective agent to the exterior
open tuberculosis
f.
(1) : not completely enclosed by defining lines
an open drawing
(2) : not defined by a figure or outline — used in the phrase open color
g.
(1) : lacking covers or parts that restrict ventilation : not enclosed
an open motor
(2) : free 13e
h. : using a plain language text in conjunction with code or cipher: as
(1) : using a concealment cipher
(2) : using a jargon code
4.
a. : requiring no special status, identification, or permit for entry or participation : generally available or known
this house is open to all that need help
an open Communion service
an open secret
b. : not restricted to a particular group or category of participants
open to the public
open bowling
c. : enterable by both amateur and professional contestants
an open golf tournament
d. : enterable by competitors of different classes
open to dogs of all breeds
5. : fit to be traveled over or through : presenting no serious obstacle to passage or view: as
a. : free from hampering obstructions
an open stretch of road
b. : free from woods, buildings, or large rocks
an open field
open country
c. : presenting no surface impediment (as ice) or underwater hazard (as shoals) to the passage of a boat
d.
(1) : unobstructed by congestion
open sinuses
(2) : not constipated
open bowels
e.
(1) : relatively free from snow and cold
open winter
(2) : not foggy or misty
as the sun warmed the air patches of open water began to appear
(3) : not frozen solid
an open harbor
6.
a. obsolete : lying or sailing in full view
b. : having a visible opening between
steer so as to keep the two spires open
7.
a. : spread out : unfolded : having the parts or surfaces laid back in an expanded position : not drawn together, folded, or contracted
an open letter
left the book open
an open rose
b. : removed from a carcass by splitting down the mid-ventral line and along the inner surfaces of each limb and cured and dressed flat
an open hide
8.
a. obsolete : uttered with the mouth open
b.
(1) of a vowel : low 1a (5)
(2) of one of two vowels constituting a pair because similar in articulation or orthography or in both : formed with the tongue in a lower position
Italian has an open e
(3) : characterized by moderate lip-rounding
(4) of a consonant : formed with the articulating organs narrowed without contact or with loose contact (as s or ḵ) : continuant , spirant , fricative — contrasted with stopped
9.
a.
(1) : available to use : accessible , suitable , usable : free and unoccupied
keep an hour open on Friday
the invitation is still open
there are only two courses open to us
(2) : not now pregnant
an open heifer
b. : available for consideration or decision : adjustable according to the requirements of circumstances : not finally closed or determined
considered it an open question
c. : kept available for future custom
an open pattern
open stocks
d. : remaining available for use or filling until canceled
an open order for four more
: operative : not terminated or liquidated
e. : legally available for hunting, fishing, and similar sports
an open season on deer
an open brook
f. : unoccupied and undefended by military forces and divested of any military installation and when so proclaimed and acknowledged immune under international law from enemy bombardment
an open city
10. : characterized by ready accessibility and usually cooperative attitude: as
a. : generous in giving
b. : willing to hear and consider or to accept and deal with : responsive
open to suggestion
open to an offer
c. : permitting the registration of a high-grade animal conforming to breed type as well as of an animal having both sire and dam registered
an open studbook
d. : accessible to the influx of new factors (as new members and ideas or foreign goods)
an open class system
an open market
e. : tolerant of internal change (as by social mobility, reforms, and the development of new ideas, values, and customs) and permissive of diversity in social, religious, and political institutions
an open society
11. : having openings, interruptions, interstices, or spaces
open banks
open open -grained lumber
as
a. : light, porous, and friable so as to be easily tilled and receptive to water infiltration
open soil
b. : sparsely distributed : scattered
open population
c.
(1) : having relatively wide spacing between words or lines
open type
open printed matter
(2) : having each leaf separate and distinct from the others after the bolts are opened or trimmed off
the open signatures of a book
d. : having the warp threads of a shed always divided into two sections and never coming together as one section
e. : having cambium between the xylem and phloem portions — used of a vascular bundle
f.
(1) : widely apart — used of dancers or the position of their feet
(2) : having the participants well separated — used of a dance or dance figure
g. : characterized by open-chain structure
h. : granular , hard
soap in an open condition
— used in soap manufacturing
12. : ready to operate : actively functioning : active
the store is open from 9 to 5
an open microphone
13.
a.
(1) : characterized by lack of effective control or regulation of various commercial enterprises (as amusements)
notorious as an open town
(2) : not repressed by legal controls
open gambling
b. : using a minimum of physical restrictions and custodial restraints upon the freedom of movement of inmates
an open prison
c. : not yielding to usually controlling factors : free from checking or hampering restraints
an open economy
faced with open inflation
d. : relatively unguarded by opponents in a sports competition
open ice
open court
14. of an expression in logic : containing one or more free variables
15. : not crossed
an open pulley belt
open eccentric rods
16. : characterized by a free development of chess pieces in front of the pawns
17.
a. : having been opened by a first ante, bet, or bid
an open pot in poker
the bidding is open
b.
(1) : having cards properly exposed
the dummy is the open hand
(2) : played or to be played with cards exposed
c. : interrupted or incomplete by a break in card sequence
an open straight
18.
a. of punctuation : characterized by omission of commas when possible without ambiguity
b. of the punctuation of a letter : characterized by the omission of punctuation marks at the end of the lines of the heading and after the complimentary close — opposed to close
Synonyms: see frank , liable
II. verb
( opened -pənd, -p ə md ; opened “ ; opening -p(ə)niŋ, -pnēŋ ; opens -pənz, -p ə mz)
Etymology: Middle English openen, from Old English openian; akin to Old High German offanōn to open, Old Norse opna; all from a prehistoric North Germanic-West Germanic denominative from the root of Old English open (I)
transitive verb
1.
a. : to move (as a door or lid) from its shut position
open the windows
slowly opened her eyelids
open a switch
b. : to make available for entry or passage by turning back (as a barrier), removing (as a cover), or clearing away (as an obstruction)
the janitor opens the building at 7 o'clock
opening the road after the flood
open your heart to mercy
as
(1) : to free (a body passage) of an occluding agent
used cathartics to open the bowels
an inhalator for opening congested nasal passages
(2) : to make available for or active in a regular function
plan to open a new store soon
at what time do you open your office
also : to make accessible for a particular purpose
opened new land for settlement
(3) : to declare (as a public building or park) to be open to the public usually by a formal ceremony
2.
a. : to expose to view : disclose , reveal , unbosom
b. archaic : interpret , expound
c. : to make more discerning or responsive : enlighten
d. : to bring into view or come in sight of by changing position so as to remove an intervening object from the line of sight
sailed on until we opened a bay
3.
a. : to make one or more openings in : cut or break into
opened the boil
planned to open the tombs of the ancient kings
b. : to loosen and make less compact usually by separating the constituent parts
open the soil by cultivating
opened the matted wool by shaking vigorously
c. : to salt out — used in soap manufacturing
4. : to spread out : unfold , unroll , extend
the rose opens its dewy petals
opened the book near the middle
5.
a. : to enter upon : begin
opened the meeting
will open his campaign soon
b.
(1) : to make the statement by which the trial of (a case) is begun and put before the court
(2) : to be the first to speak in summing up or arguing (a case)
c. : to commence action in a card game by making (a first bid), putting a first bet in (the pot), or playing (a specified card or suit) as first lead
6. : to restore or recall (as an order, rule, judgment) from a finally determined state to a state in which the parties are free to prosecute or oppose by further legal proceedings
7. : to shift the feet so as to assume (an open stance) in golf or batting
intransitive verb
1.
a. : to become open : unclose
the door opened slowly
b. : to open a door or other barrier or make open a closed place usually so as to give admittance
open in the name of the law
c. : to have the doors opened for admittance of the public
the store opens at 9
2.
a. : to spread out : expand
the buds are beginning to open
b. : to separate or come apart usually with an effect of spreading out
the wound opened under the strain
the book opened to my place
c. : to expand into view : become disclosed : spread out in the sight especially so that elements come to be seen as distinct
a lovely vista opened before us
3. : to become enlightened or responsive
my heart opens to your words
4.
a. : to give access
an arch opens into the dining room
b. : to have an opening, passage, or outlet
all the rooms open onto a long hall
c. : to open in an indicated direction
the door opens toward the hall
5. : to bark on first finding scent : give tongue to a scent trail
the dog opened almost at once
6. : to bare or make plain one's mind, feelings, or knowledge by speaking : speak out : be open in speech
finally opened freely on the subject
7.
a. : to begin action : commence in some course or activity
the artillery opened on the enemy
the stock opened at par
b. : to commence by a first incident (as a performance of a drama, a concert, or a day's hunting)
the opera season opens Friday
c. : to make a bet, bid, or lead in commencing a round or hand of a card game
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- open one's eyes
- open one's heart
- open one's mouth
- open one's shoulders
- open ranks
- open the books
III. adverb
Etymology: Middle English, from open (I)
: in an open manner
IV. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English, in sense 1 from openen to open; in other senses from open (I)
1. : opening
2. : open and unobstructed space: as
a. : land without trees, buildings, or obstructions
finally broke out of the forest into the open
b. : countryside free from hedges or fences
c.
(1) : cultivated land as distinguished from some protected place (as a greenhouse)
grapes grown in the open have a distinctive tang
(2) : outdoors as distinguished from inside
spent the day in the open
d. : open water especially of the ocean or a lake
3. : a public or unconcealed state or position
bring the facts into the open
4. : a style of type characterized by letters in outline
5. : a break in an electric circuit
6. : an open contest, competition, or tournament (as in a sport)
V. adjective
1. : being a mathematical interval that contains neither of its endpoints
2. : being a set each point of which has a neighborhood all of whose points are contained in the set
3. of a universe : having insufficient mass to halt expansion gravitationally : expanding forever
4.
a. : being an incomplete electric circuit
b. : not allowing the flow of electricity
an open switch
5. : being an operation or surgical procedure in which an incision is made such that the tissues and organs are fully exposed
VI. transitive verb
: to initiate access to (a computer file) prior to use
intransitive verb
: to provide the opening performance of a show before the feature performance begins
a young singer opened for the headliner