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closed

closed

3 1.0
Shut so people cannot go in or see
  • adjective
  • /kloʊzd/
translation icon : cerrado
  • The store had a closed sign in the window, indicating it would not reopen until morning.
  • a closed door

See it first with your eyes closed in your mind.

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Examples

  • Later, I asked my mother what was behind that closed door on the landing.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • "Nervous?" he asked as they paused at the closed door.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • At the top, I looked around and saw the closed door.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • Despite the CLOSED sign, a light's on inside.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • I gradually became aware of raised voices behind the closed door on the far side of the room.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • Then she gave him a radiant smile, and then he was on the other side of the closed door.

    Fiction book (2002)
  • A big block-lettered sign in the window of the shop read, CLOSED.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • Behind that closed door lies his mother's sewing room.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • The shopkeeper appears at the glass, locking the door and flipping the sign: CLOSED.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • I could see the wide burnished staircase and the closed door to one of the hospitality suites.

    Fiction book (2002)

Synonyms

shut
vsclosed
74 1.0

Not open, for example a door or your eyes

is the neutral basic term for that same state
unopened
vsclosed
15 1.0

Still closed and in its original package

refers generally to being not open regardless of prior opening history
drawn
vsclosed
2.7

Curtains or shades closed to block light and view

is a general word not limited to curtains or draperies
shuttered
vsclosed
3.7

A room or building with its windows closed by covers

refers to the same non open state but not only when shutters are used
fastened
vsclosed
1.3

Kept closed so it does not open or move

describes the basic not open state without implying fastenings
sealed
vsclosed
2.5

Closed and covered to stop water or air getting in

means not open but focuses on protection or preventing leaks

Antonyms

1.0

Not closed so people or things can go through

Idioms

behind closed doors
  • Literature
112 4.1

In private and not open to the public

To keep quiet to avoid saying something silly

with eyes closed
  • Informal
4.9

To do something easily without thinking because you trust or know it well

Compounds

19 5.3

Not open to the public and held privately by a small group

15 4.2

A private meeting or place that people keep secret

14 4.1

A space surrounded on all sides and not open to the outside

8 5.5

A part of a meeting that is not open to the public

closed-circuit
  • Specialized
5 5.3

A system that keeps video or sound inside a private network

4 6.4

A workplace that only hires people who belong to a union

A system of cameras and monitors that records and shows images for security, not for public broadcast

2 7.2

An election to choose a party candidate in which only registered members of the party can vote

closed circuit
  • Specialized
2 4.3

A complete path that lets electricity or signals flow

closed loop
  • Specialized
1 5.1

A system that uses feedback to keep things like temperature at the right level

Includes captions that viewers can turn on to read the dialogue

closed book
  • Informal
1 7.4

Something that is hard to understand or know much about

closed fracture
  • Specialized
1 4.1

A broken bone that does not break the skin

closed universe
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A model of the universe whose space curves and contains enough matter to stop and reverse its expansion

closed-end fund
  • Specialized
1 7.2

A company that sells a set number of shares that trade on the stock market

closed curve
  • Specialized
6.5

A curve with no endpoints that comes back to its starting point, like a circle

A plant with blue or purple flowers shaped like a tube that stay mostly closed

closed interval
  • Specialized
7.3

All numbers from one number to another including both ends

closed syllable
  • Specialized
6.0

A syllable that ends with a consonant and has a short vowel sound

closed-angle glaucoma
  • Specialized
6.7

A sudden eye condition when the colored part blocks fluid leaving the front of the eye, raising eye pressure quickly

closed-class word
  • Specialized
8.3

A word from a small fixed set that helps show grammar, like in or and

A company that issues a fixed number of shares which are traded on a stock market

closed chain
  • Specialized
6.9

A ring of atoms joined in a molecule to form a loop

closed corporation
  • Specialized
7.0

A company whose shares are owned by a small group and not sold to the public

closed couplet
  • Literature
7.9

Two lines of poetry that rhyme and give a complete thought

closed-heart surgery
  • Specialized
6.1

Heart surgery done through a small cut without opening the chest

closed-loop system
  • Specialized
6.0

A control system that uses information from sensors to adjust itself automatically

closed-loop system
  • Specialized
5.2

A system that recovers, cleans, and reuses materials to avoid waste

closed-ring
  • Specialized
7.7

Having atoms joined together to form a ring

simple closed curve
  • Specialized
7.9

A curved line on a flat surface that makes a closed loop without crossing itself, like a circle

How Closed

airtight
19 3.9
sealed
2.5
closed
3 1.0
ajar
3 1.2
open
1.0

Surface Forms

closed positive

Morphology

closed = close (transparent) = close + ed

A straightforward adjectival/past-participle formation from the verb 'close' meaning 'not open', directly matching the literal sense.

Etymology

Closed comes from the old Latin word claudere meaning 'to shut'. Think of a door shut tight; that's why closed means 'not open' and you cannot go in or see through.