OPENING
opening
(adjective) first or beginning; “the memorable opening bars of Beethoven’s Fifth”; “the play’s opening scene”
opening
(noun) the act of opening something; “the ray of light revealed his cautious opening of the door”
opening
(noun) becoming open or being made open; “the opening of his arms was the sign I was waiting for”
opening, chess opening
(noun) a recognized sequence of moves at the beginning of a game of chess; “he memorized all the important chess openings”
hatchway, opening, scuttle
(noun) an entrance equipped with a hatch; especially a passageway between decks of a ship
opening
(noun) a vacant or unobstructed space that is man-made; “they left a small opening for the cat at the bottom of the door”
orifice, opening, porta
(noun) an aperture or hole that opens into a bodily cavity; “the orifice into the aorta from the lower left chamber of the heart”
possibility, possible action, opening
(noun) a possible alternative; “bankruptcy is always a possibility”
opening
(noun) the initial part of the introduction; “the opening established the basic theme”
opening, opening night, curtain raising
(noun) the first performance (as of a theatrical production); “the opening received good critical reviews”
opening
(noun) a ceremony accompanying the start of some enterprise
opening, gap
(noun) an open or empty space in or between things; “there was a small opening between the trees”; “the explosion made a gap in the wall”
opening
(noun) opportunity especially for employment or promotion; “there is an opening in the sales department”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Verb
opening
present participle of open
Noun
opening (plural openings)
An act or instance of making or becoming open.
Something that is open.
An act or instance of beginning.
Something that is a beginning.
The first performance of a show or play by a particular troupe.
The initial period a show at an art gallery or museum is first opened, especially the first evening.
The first few measures of a musical composition.
(chess) The first few moves in a game of chess.
A vacant position, especially in an array.
A time available in a schedule.
An unoccupied employment position.
An opportunity, as in a competitive activity.
(math) In mathematical morphology, the dilation of the erosion of a set.
Synonyms
• (something that is open): hole, gap, crevice; see also hole or interspace
• (available time): availability, slot
• (unoccupied employment position): job opening
Coordinate terms
• (opening of an art show): vernissage
Adjective
opening (not comparable)
Pertaining to the start or beginning of a series of events.
(cricket) describing the first period of play, usually up to the fall of the first wicket; describing a batsman who opens the innings or a bowler who opens the attack
Source: Wiktionary
O"pen*ing, n.
1. The act or process of opening; a beginning; commencement; first
appearance; as, the opening of a speech.
The opening of your glory was like that of light. Dryden.
2. A place which is open; a breach; an aperture; a gap; cleft, or
hole.
We saw him at the opening of his tent. Shak.
3. Hence: A vacant place; an opportunity; as, an opening for
business. [Colloq.] Dickens.
4. A thinly wooded space, without undergrowth, in the midst of a
forest; as, oak openings. [U.S.] Cooper.
OPEN
O"pen, a. Etym: [AS. open; akin to D. open, OS. opan, G. offan, Icel.
opinn, Sw. öppen, Dan. aaben, and perh. to E. up. Cf. Up, and Ope.]
1. Free of access; not shut up; not closed; affording unobstructed
ingress or egress; not impeding or preventing passage; not locked up
or covered over; -- applied to passageways; as, an open door, window,
road, etc.; also, to inclosed structures or objects; as, open houses,
boxes, baskets, bottles, etc.; also, to means of communication or
approach by water or land; as, an open harbor or roadstead.
Through the gate, Wide open and unquarded, Satan passed. Milton
Note: Also, figuratively, used of the ways of communication of the
mind, as by the senses; ready to hear, see, etc.; as, to keep one's
eyes and ears open.
His ears are open unto their cry. Ps. xxxiv. 15.
2. Free to be used, enjoyed, visited, or the like; not private;
public; unrestricted in use; as, an open library, museum, court, or
other assembly; liable to the approach, trespass, or attack of any
one; unprotected; exposed.
If Demetrius . . . have a matter against any man, the law is open and
there are deputies. Acts xix. 33.
The service that I truly did his life, Hath left me open to all
injuries. Shak.
3. Free or cleared of obstruction to progress or to view; accessible;
as, an open tract; the open sea.
4. Not drawn together, closed, or contracted; extended; expanded; as,
an open hand; open arms; an open flower; an open prospect.
Each, with open arms, embraced her chosen knight. Dryden.
5. Hence:
(a) Without reserve or false pretense; sincere; characterized by
sincerity; unfeigned; frank; also, generous; liberal; bounteous; --
applied to personal appearance, or character, and to the expression
of thought and feeling, etc.
With aspect open, shall erect his head. Pope.
The Moor is of a free and open nature. Shak.
The French are always open, familiar, and talkative. Addison.
(b) Not concealed or secret; not hidden or disguised; exposed to view
or to knowledge; revealed; apparent; as, open schemes or plans; open
shame or guilt.
His thefts are too open. Shak.
That I may find him, and with secret gaze Or open admiration him
behold. Milton.
6. Not of a quality to prevent communication, as by closing water
ways, blocking roads, etc.; hence, not frosty or inclement; mild; --
used of the weather or the climate; as, an open season; an open
winter. Bacon.
7. Not settled or adjusted; not decided or determined; not closed or
withdrawn from consideration; as, an open account; an open question;
to keep an offer or opportunity open.
8. Free; disengaged; unappropriated; as, to keep a day open for any
purpose; to be open for an engagement.
9. (Phon.)
(a) Uttered with a relatively wide opening of the articulating
organs; -- said of vowels; as, the än fär is open as compared with
the a in say.
(b) Uttered, as a consonant, with the oral passage simply narrowed
without closure, as in uttering s.
10. (Mus.)
(a) Not closed or stopped with the finger; -- said of the string of
an instrument, as of a violin, when it is allowed to vibrate
throughout its whole length.
(b) Produced by an open string; as, an open tone. The open air, the
air out of doors.
– Open chain. (Chem.) See Closed chain, under Chain.
– Open circuit (Elec.), a conducting circuit which is incomplete,
or interrupted at some point; -- opposed to an uninterrupted, or Ant:
closed circuit.
– Open communion, communion in the Lord's supper not restricted to
persons who have been baptized by immersion. Cf. Close communion,
under Close, a.
– Open diapason (Mus.), a certain stop in an organ, in which the
pipes or tubes are formed like the mouthpiece of a flageolet at the
end where the wind enters, and are open at the other end.
– Open flank (Fort.), the part of the flank covered by the orillon.
– Open-front furnace (Metal.), a blast furnace having a forehearth.
– Open harmony (Mus.), harmony the tones of which are widely
dispersed, or separated by wide intervals.
– Open hawse (Naut.), a hawse in which the cables are parallel or
slightly divergent. Cf. Foul hawse, under Hawse.
– Open hearth (Metal.), the shallow hearth of a reverberatory
furnace.
– Open-hearth furnace, a reverberatory furnace; esp., a kind of
reverberatory furnace in which the fuel is gas, used in manufacturing
steel.
– Open-hearth process (Steel Manuf.), a process by which melted
cast iron is converted into steel by the addition of wrought iron, or
iron ore and manganese, and by exposure to heat in an open-hearth
furnace; -- also called the Siemens-Martin process, from the
inventors.
– Open-hearth steel, steel made by an open-hearth process; -- also
called Siemens-Martin steel.
– Open newel. (Arch.) See Hollow newel, under Hollow.
– Open pipe (Mus.), a pipe open at the top. It has a pitch about an
octave higher than a closed pipe of the same length.
– Open-timber roof (Arch.), a roof of which the constructional
parts, together with the under side of the covering, or its lining,
are treated ornamentally, and left to form the ceiling of an
apartment below, as in a church, a public hall, and the like.
– Open vowel or consonant. See Open, a., 9.
Note: Open is used in many compounds, most of which are self-
explaining; as, open-breasted, open-minded.
Syn.
– Unclosed; uncovered; unprotected; exposed; plain; apparent;
obvious; evident; public; unreserved; frank; sincere; undissembling;
artless. See Candid, and Ingenuous.
O"pen, n.
Definition: Open or unobstructed space; clear land, without trees or
obstructions; open ocean; open water. "To sail into the open." Jowett
(Thucyd. ).
Then we got into the open. W. Black.
In open, in full view; without concealment; openly. [Obs.] Beau. &
Fl.
O"pen v. t. [imp. & p. p. Opened; p. pr. & vb. n. Opening.] Etym:
[AS. openian. See Open,a.]
1. To make or set open; to render free of access; to unclose; to
unbar; to unlock; to remove any fastening or covering from; as, to
open a door; to open a box; to open a room; to open a letter.
And all the windows of my heart I open to the day. Whittier.
2. To spread; to expand; as, to open the hand.
3. To disclose; to reveal; to interpret; to explain.
The king opened himself to some of his council, that he was sorry for
the earl's death. Bacon.
Unto thee have I opened my cause. Jer. xx. 12.
While he opened to us the Scriptures. Luke xxiv. 32.
4. To make known; to discover; also, to render available or
accessible for settlements, trade, etc.
The English did adventure far for to open the North parts of America.
Abp. Abbot.
5. To enter upon; to begin; as, to open a discussion; to open fire
upon an enemy; to open trade, or correspondence; to open a case in
court, or a meeting.
6. To loosen or make less compact; as, to open matted cotton by
separating the fibers. To open one's mouth, to speak.
– To open up, to lay open; to discover; to disclose.
Poetry that had opened up so many delightful views into the character
and condition of our "bold peasantry, their country's pride." Prof.
Wilson.
O"pen, v. i.
1. To unclose; to form a hole, breach, or gap; to be unclosed; to be
parted.
The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan, and covered the company of
Abiram. Ps. cvi. 17.
2. To expand; to spread out; to be disclosed; as, the harbor opened
to our view.
3. To begin; to commence; as, the stock opened at par; the battery
opened upon the enemy.
4. (Sporting)
Definition: To bark on scent or view of the game.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition