to open
- verb
- /ˈoʊpən/
- Next step is you open the can.
- open the door
- open your eyes
- open a window
Maybe I maybe I shouldn't open this, but I did.
- Maybe I maybe I shouldn't open this, but I did.
- Nancy was always handing me jars that I couldn't open reading.
- Next step is you open the can.
- Both work and it opens so easily.
- Soon as Alana gets home, opens the door, he barks.
- He cannot control it as it opens, closes, opens.
Examples
-
Please open the window to let in some fresh air.
-
Can I open my eyes?
-
I just want to see you open the door.
-
So how the hell do I open the store, guys?
-
OK, so I guess you can open it that way.
-
OK, so I'm going to ask our team to open those doors.
-
OK, so I'm going to open the hat box.
-
I hope that world leaders, those who make decisions, open their eyes to the suffering of the Palestinians.
Academic text (2011) -
All he has to do is open those valves.
-
Open your eyes.
Synonyms
Make something available for people to use
Antonyms
Idioms
- Informal
Stay half awake and watch for danger while you sleep because you are afraid
- Offensive
To attack or punish someone suddenly and violently, often for something they did
- Offensive
To show a company's private information to others, often during business talks
- Informal
To not pay attention and miss what is happening around you, for example because you are daydreaming
- Informal
To try to make something happen when it is already easy or people already agree
Phrasal Verbs
- Texting
To create a new browser tab so you can view another web page without leaving the current page
Compounds
- Literature
A letter written to one person but published for everyone to read to make people notice a problem
- Specialized
An operation where doctors open the chest to operate on the heart
- NSFW
A marriage in which both partners allow each other to have sex with other people
- Literature
An early election before the main vote where any registered voter can vote for candidates of only one party
A way to let many countries trade equally with one country, used for China in the late 1800s
A British university that offers part-time online and distance courses for adults, often without usual entry rules
- Specialized
A fabric with threads placed far apart so small holes let light and air through
A way of allowing foreign companies to trade on the same terms as local companies
- Specialized
A common eye disease that slowly reduces side vision when eye fluid cannot drain
- Specialized
A set of numbers between two points that does not include the end points
- Specialized
Soldiers standing with wide spaces between ranks so an officer can walk between them for inspection
- Specialized
A borrowing plan that lets you borrow up to a set limit and use it again as you repay
- Specialized
A company that sells and buys back shares any time at a price based on its assets
- Archaic
A large hot oven that makes steel by heating metal on a shallow bed with flames above
- Archaic
A way of making steel by melting iron and scrap metal in a large open furnace
How Open
Surface Forms
Etymology
Open as a verb comes from an old German word meaning 'to make not closed'. To open something is to move it so people can get in, see, or use it.