neck opening
- noun
- Following the pattern and needle's suggestion resulted in a *really* wide neck opening.
Examples
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Months passed as she pushed her head through the neck opening.
Fiction book (1991) -
Many small children find it uncomfortable to fit their heads through the narrow neck opening of a sweater.
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The dress features a delicate lace trim around the neck opening that adds an elegant touch to the design.
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She adjusted the fabric to ensure that the neck opening of her shirt was neither too loose nor too tight.
Synonyms
The opening of a garment that sits around the base of the throat
The edge or shape of a piece of clothing around the neck
How Open
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'an opening in a garment for the neck' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'neck' and 'opening' — a simple noun+noun composition where 'opening' denotes a gap associated with the neck. This is a common, compositional pattern with clear cross-linguistic parallels, so a B1 learner who knows both words would readily infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Neck opening is a literal name: it means the opening in a piece of clothing where the neck goes through. So it refers to the hole or part of a shirt or dress that fits around the neck.