to open
- verb
- /ˈoʊpən/
- The company will open its doors to the public for a special event this Saturday.
- opening statement
- open new opportunities
- open an avenue
All right, so for the episode, let's open with Noctua.
- All right, so for the episode, let's open with Noctua.
- Well, this week, yet another front opens as Italy joins the war.
- Gary Busey, your challenge is open a lemonade stand.
- So let me open this with this guy.
- Oh no, then come and throw the first pitch to open the game, right.
- And then he started to open his own affiliate.
- I think it's the perfect phrase to open a conversation.
Examples
-
They're opening up a special wing.
-
The chaplain of the day will open the exercises with a prayer.
-
OK, so it is time to open the Dream Bag.
-
Hey, I think we should open the episode with that.
-
We wanted to open a bar, not whatever this is!
-
My people, at this time, I need you to open your hearts and your minds.
-
A new public exhibit at the refuge is expected to open in fall 2011.
Academic text (2011) -
All right, Taco Bell opened with five food items.
-
The curators of TEDx Houston asked me to open their first event.
-
Satchmo at the Waldorf, his first play, opened in September in Orlando, Florida.
Academic text (2011)
Synonyms
To begin an action, event or process
To start an activity, event, or speech
Begin to work and serve customers, like a shop or theater
To start an event or activity, often officially
To begin a new business or project
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 Formal
Surface Forms
Etymology
Open as a verb also grew from the idea of making a place not closed, so starting an event is like opening a room or curtain to begin. That is why to open a ceremony or meeting means to start it.