to open up
207
3.7
- phrasal verb
- /ˈoʊpən ʌp/
:
abrir
- That really opens up a lot of possibilities.
- open up opportunities
- open up possibilities
- open up markets
And that of course, open up a bunch of new questions.
- And that of course, open up a bunch of new questions.
- Empathy tears down barriers and it opens up whole new frontiers for optimism.
- Expand that vision again, open up that ambition again.
- But with this conclusion, I think this opens up two big potential pitfalls.
- And yeah, that just opened up a world of possibilities after that.
- And this opens up a door for the mask to come off.
- And that was so thrilling and opened up a world to me I never thought existed.
- And if you lean forward, then that tends to open up that space.
- The first one is that you, you can open up the channel by reading something.
- That's all been part of an effort to open up Lincoln Center even more.
- But let's say you at once you decide to open up it to poetry even.
Examples
-
We begin to change, to open up to love, trust, and intimacy in relation to others.
Academic text (1993) -
Getting my GED would just mean so much, open up so many doors.
-
My simple advice is just open up your life to someone.
-
So take that chance 'cause life opens up when you do.
-
American foreign policy needs to change its tone and attitude, open up, and reach out.
Academic text (2008) -
- Not long ago the government in China opened up the interior of the country to foreigners.
-
The girls carry bags through a hallway that opens up onto an enormous kitchen.
Fiction book (1996) -
A few blocks south, the city opens up on a series of Brutalist buildings.
Academic text (2017) -
Empathy tears down barriers and it opens up whole new frontiers for optimism.
-
Getting my GED would just mean so much and open up so many doors for my career.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
To make something not closed so you can get in
53
3.2
Give someone new chances to succeed
13
4.0
To make a file or information appear for use
13
3.6
To keep a chance open for the future
12
2.7
Make a product, book or film available to the public
Antonyms
How Accessible
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to make something open or become open' is directly and predictably derived from 'open' (to remove closure) combined with the particle 'up', which here adds a completive/intensive sense. This verb+particle composition is a regular, cross-linguistically common pattern, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words would reliably infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Open up may come from the image of unlocking a gate and making new land open by lifting the gate up. So it came to mean 'to make available' or to create new chances.