adjective | verb | noun
openopen1 /ˈoʊpən/ ●●● S1 W1 adjective 1
DOOR/CONTAINER ETC. a)not closed so that things, people, air, etc. can go in and out or be put in and out OPP closed, shut: I could feel the breeze coming through the open window. Why is that drawer open? She left the door wide open (=completely open).fly/blow/burst etc. open (=open quickly) The door flew open and Harry rushed in.push/slide/force something open In the end, the police had to force the door open.tear/rip something open Mac took the envelope and tore it open. b)not locked OPP locked: Come on in – the door’s open.THESAURUSajar – a door or window that is ajar is open a little bit: The door was ajar, so she looked into the room.unlocked – if a door, window, or container is unlocked, the lock is not fastened so that it can be opened easily: I’ll leave the front door unlocked, so you won’t need a key.2EYES/MOUTH not closed: The nurse held the child’s mouth open. She stared at the man with her eyes wide open.3STORE/BANK ETC. [not before noun] if a place is open, for example a store, bank, school, park, etc. visitors, customers, etc. can come in OPP closed: What hours is the bank open? The restaurant has been open for a few weeks now. The corner store stays open until midnight. The store was open for business again the day after the robbery.4AVAILABLE TO ALL available to everyone in a particular group so that they can all take part: open to The contest is open to all elementary school children in the city. All conference events are open to the public (=anyone can attend). He threw the meeting open to his colleagues for questions and comments.5NOT BLOCKED if a road, border, line of communication, etc. is open, it is not blocked and it can be used: The border is now open again. The highway remained open, despite all the snow.6NOT ENCLOSED [only before noun] not enclosed or restricted by buildings, walls, etc.: The house has an open staircase. He grew up in the wide open spaces of Australia. They spent the day out driving on the open road. The play will be performed in the open air (=outdoors). The ship was lost without sails on the open sea (=part of the ocean that is far from any land). → see also in the open at open3 (1), open-air, open space7NOT COVERED without a roof or cover: We rode through the park in an open horse-drawn carriage. Open sewers can result in serious public health problems.open to the sky/elements (=without a roof)8SPREAD APART spread apart instead of closed, curled over, folded, etc.: A book lay open on the table. At night the flowers were open. Johnson raised an open hand.9CLOTHES not fastened: His shirt was open at the collar.10CLEARLY SHOWN [only before noun] open actions, feelings, intentions, etc. are not hidden or secret: There was open hostility between the two families. → see also open secret11HONEST honest and not wanting to hide any facts from other people: There was a frank and open discussion at the meeting.open with She was very open with me.► see thesaurus at honest12NOT SECRET not hiding information from the public: The people are demanding more freedom and an open government. Some of the memos were shown in open court (=in a court of law where everything is public).13NOT YET DECIDED needing more discussion or thought before a decision can be made: The matter remains an open question. The price is open to negotiation. → see also keep/leave your options open at option (2)14NOT FINISHED if a case, investigation, etc. is still open, it has not yet been settled or finished OPP closed: The police say they are keeping the case open.15COMPETITION if a competition or race is open, it is not certain who will win it: The men’s 100-meter race is wide open.16an open wound/sore etc. a wound that has not healed and is not covered17be open to suggestions/help/offers etc. to be ready to consider people’s suggestions, help, or offers: We are always open to suggestions for improvements.18have/keep an open mind to deliberately not make a decision or form a definite opinion about something19open to criticism/blame/suspicion etc. likely to be criticized, blamed, etc.: By accepting the money he has left himself wide open to criticism.20be open to question/doubt if something is open to question or doubt, you are not sure if it is good, true, likely to succeed, etc.: The authenticity of the relics is open to doubt.21OPPORTUNITY if an opportunity or possible action is open to someone, he or she has the chance to do it: open to She has a right to know about all the options open to her.22JOB [not before noun] a job that is open is available: Is the position still open?23be an open book to not have any secrets and be easily understood: I had always thought of Jeff as an open book.24keep your eyes/ears open to keep looking or listening so that you will notice anything that is important, dangerous, etc.25an open marriage/relationship a marriage or relationship in which both partners have agreed that they are free to have sexual relationships with other people26welcome/greet somebody with open arms to show that you are very pleased to see someone27be (wide) open for/to something to be ready for a particular activity or willing to accept it: Siberia is wide open for development.28TIME [not before noun] if a time is open, nothing has been planned for that time: I’m sorry, but the doctor doesn’t have anything open this afternoon.29SPORTS not guarded or blocked by someone else so that you can easily catch a ball that is thrown to you30an open invitation a)an invitation to visit someone whenever you like b)something that makes it easier for someone to do something illegal or bad: An unlocked car is an open invitation to thieves.31open weave/texture cloth with an open weave or texture has wide spaces between the threads[Origin: Old English] → see also keep an eye open/peeled at eye1 (7), open-eyed, with your eyes open at eye1 (8) adjective | verb | noun
openopen2 ●●● S1 W1 verb 1
DOOR/WINDOW ETC. [intransitive, transitive] to move a door, window, etc. so that people, things, air, etc. can pass through, or to be moved in this way OPP close, shut: Will you open the door for me? I can’t get this drawer to open.2CONTAINER/PACKAGE [intransitive, transitive] to unfasten or remove the lid, top, or cover of a container, package, etc., or to be unfastened, uncovered, etc. in this way: Should I open another bottle of wine? The children were opening their presents. The suitcase wouldn’t open.3EYES a)[intransitive, transitive] if you open your eyes or your eyes open, your eyelids rise so that you can see b)open somebody’s eyes (to something) to make someone realize something that he or she had not realized before: The project has opened teachers’ eyes to this problem.4MOUTH [intransitive, transitive] if you open your mouth or your mouth opens, your lips move apart5LET CUSTOMERS COME IN [intransitive] if a store, bank, public building, etc. opens at a particular time, it begins to let customers or visitors come in at that time OPP close: What time does the bank open?6START A BUSINESS [intransitive, transitive] if a new business such as a store or restaurant opens or is opened, it starts operating SYN open up OPP close: The pool will open again in the spring. Runyan plans to open a casino.7START AN ACTIVITY a)[intransitive, transitive] to start an event, series of actions, etc., or to be started in a particular way: Tonight’s concert opens a two-week festival.open with The story opens with the family’s arrival in Boston. b)open an inquiry/investigation to start a process of collecting information about something: The police have opened an investigation into the causes of his death.8SPREAD/UNFOLD [intransitive, transitive] to spread something out, or to become spread out: Open your books to page 63. How do you open this umbrella? The rosebuds are starting to open.9COMPUTER [transitive] to make a document or computer program ready to use: Click on this icon to open your File Manager.10ROAD/BORDER [transitive] to make it possible for cars, goods, etc. to pass through a place OPP close: They’re plowing the snow to open the road to Aspen. The two countries opened their borders again after the war.11OFFICIAL CEREMONY [transitive] to perform a ceremony in which you officially state that a building is ready to be used: The new airport will be officially opened by the mayor himself.12MOVIE/PLAY ETC. [intransitive] to start being shown to people: The movie opens locally on Friday.13open fire (on somebody) to start shooting at someone or something14open something to the public to let people come and visit a house, park, etc.: Glenn plans to open the museum to the public later this year.15open an account to start an account at a bank or other financial organization by putting money into it16open your arms a)to stretch your arms wide apart, especially to show that you want to hold someone b)to welcome someone or treat someone very kindly: Local people opened their arms to the earthquake victims.17open the door to something (also open the way for something) to provide an opportunity for something to happen: Today’s ruling could open the way to a large number of new lawsuits.18open doors (for/to somebody) to give someone an opportunity to do something: A college education can really open doors for you.19open your mind to something to be ready to consider or accept new ideas20open your heart (to somebody) to tell someone your real thoughts and feelings because you trust him or her21open old wounds to remind someone of bad things that happened in the past: Seeing my ex-boyfriend opened some old wounds.22the heavens/skies open used to say that it starts to rain heavily → see also open the floodgates at floodgate (1)open onto/into something phrasal verb if a room, door, etc. opens onto or into another place, you can enter the other place directly through it: The kitchen opens onto a patio.open out phrasal verb if a road, river, valley, etc. opens out, it becomes wideropen up phrasal verb1OPPORTUNITY open (something ↔) up to become available or possible, or to make something available or possible: New opportunities are opening up all the time. Education opens up all kinds of career choices.2LAND open (something ↔) up if someone opens up a country or area of land, or if it opens up, it becomes easier to reach and ready for development, trade, etc.: China continues to open up to the West. The new ferry service has opened the island up to tourism.3TALK open yourself up to stop being shy, and talk freely about your thoughts or feelings: open up to It took Martha several weeks to open up to her therapist.4START A BUSINESS open (something ↔) up if a store, restaurant, etc. opens up or is opened up, someone starts it: There’s a new supermarket opening up in our neighborhood.5DOOR/ROOM/CONTAINER open (something ↔) up to open a door or something such as a box or case: Open up, we know you’re in there. Could you open up the suitcase, please?6DISAGREEMENT open something up if you open up a disagreement or division between people, or if it opens up, it begins: The affair has opened up a rift between the two countries.7MEDICAL OPERATION open somebody up informal to cut open someone’s body to perform a medical operation8open up a debate/discussion etc. to start a discussion9open yourself up to attack/criticism etc. to do something that makes it possible for other people to attack you, criticize you, etc.10HOLE/CRACK if a hole or crack opens up, it appears and becomes wider11WITH A GUN to start shooting adjective | verb | noun
openopen3 noun 1in the open a)outdoors without any shelter or protection: We slept out in the open. b)not hidden or secret: By now the whole affair was in the open. The argument brought a lot of problems out into the open.2[countable usually singular] a sports competition that both professional players and amateurs can compete in: U.S. Open tickets are now on sale.