open

o|pen¹ W1S1 [ˈəupən US ˈou-] adj

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1¦(door/container etc)¦

2¦(eyes/mouth)¦

3¦(not enclosed)¦

4¦(not covered)¦

5 the open air

6¦(business/building etc)¦

7¦(not restricted)¦

8¦(opportunity)¦

9¦(not secret)¦

10¦(honest)¦

11¦(clothes)¦

12¦(not yet decided)¦

13 open to something

14¦(not blocked)¦

15¦(spread apart)¦

16 an open mind

17 be open to question/doubt

18 welcome/greet somebody/something with open arms

19 an open invitation

20 be an open book

21 the door is open

22 keep your eyes/ears open

23 open weave/texture

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[: Old English;]

1.) ¦(DOOR/CONTAINER ETC)¦

not closed, so that things, people, air etc can go in and out or be put in and out

≠ ↑closed, shut ↑shut

▪ He threw the door open and ran down the stairs.

▪ an open window

▪ The gates swung silently open .

▪ The bar door flew open and a noisy group burst in.

▪ All the windows were wide open (=completely open) .

▪ She looked at the open suitcase with surprise.

▪ There was an open bottle of wine on the table.

2.) ¦(EYES/MOUTH)¦

not closed, so that your ↑eyelids or your lips are apart

▪ I was so sleepy, I couldn't keep my eyes open .

▪ He was fast asleep with his mouth wide open .

3.) ¦(NOT ENCLOSED)¦ [only before noun]

not enclosed, or with no buildings, walls, trees etc

▪ There was open ground at the end of the lane.

▪ open spaces such as parks and gardens

open countryside/country

▪ At weekends people want to leave the town for open countryside.

▪ A shoal of fish swam past heading for the open sea (=part of the sea away from land) .

▪ The car's performance is good, especially going fast on the open road (=a road without traffic where you can drive fast) .

4.) ¦(NOT COVERED)¦

without a roof or cover

▪ The president was riding with his wife in an open car.

▪ Martin was struggling with the sails on the open deck.

▪ an open drain

open to the sky/air/elements

▪ Many of the tombs had been robbed and left open to the sky.

5.) the open air

outdoors

in the open air

▪ The dancing was outside, in the open air.

▪ Jane wanted to rush to the door and get out into the open air.

→↑open-air

6.) ¦(BUSINESS/BUILDING ETC)¦ [not before noun]

ready for business and allowing customers, visitors etc to enter

≠ ↑closed, shut ↑shut

▪ The museum is open daily in the summer months.

▪ The offices are also open at weekends.

▪ After the security alert, most of the firms affected were open for business on Monday morning.

▪ The villagers are anxious that their local school is kept open.

▪ I declare this exhibition open (=officially say that it is now open) .

7.) ¦(NOT RESTRICTED)¦

allowing everyone, or everyone in a group, to take part in something, know about something, or have a chance to win something

open to

▪ The competition is open to all readers in the UK.

▪ In many schools, governors' meetings are not open to the public .

▪ The discussion was then thrown open for the audience's questions.

▪ an open meeting

▪ The men's race appears wide open (=anyone could win it) .

▪ The painting would fetch several hundred dollars on the open market (=a market in which anyone can buy or sell) .

8.) ¦(OPPORTUNITY)¦ [not before noun]

if an opportunity, possible action, job etc is open to you, you have the chance to do it

▪ The job is being kept open for her.

open to

▪ The 1960s was a period when greater opportunities were open to women.

▪ So what other options are open to us?

▪ There is only one course of action open to the local authority.

9.) ¦(NOT SECRET)¦ [only before noun]

actions, feelings, intentions etc that are open are not hidden or secret

▪ Her father watched her with open admiration.

▪ open hostility between the two nations

▪ The party was calling for more open government (=when the government makes information freely available) .

▪ The case will be tried in open court (=in a court where everything is public) .

▪ It is an open secret (=it is supposed to be secret, but most people know about it) that she is having an affair with another man.

10.)¦(HONEST)¦

honest and not wanting to hide any facts from other people

open with

▪ The couple are quite open with each other about their feelings.

open about

▪ She was quite open about her ambitions.

▪ his friendly, open manner

11.) ¦(CLOTHES)¦

not fastened

▪ the open neck of his shirt

▪ She was wearing an open jacket.

12.) ¦(NOT YET DECIDED)¦

needing more discussion or thought before a decision can be made

▪ The matter remains an open question .

open to

▪ The new rates of pay are open to negotiation.

▪ The test results are open to interpretation.

keep/leave your options open

▪ Officers investigating her death are keeping their options open.

13.) open to sth

a) likely to suffer from something or be affected by something

▪ The magazine's editor is open to criticism in allowing the article to be printed.

▪ The regulations are open to abuse by companies.

▪ He has left himself open to accusations of dishonesty.

b) willing to consider something new or to accept something new

▪ Teachers need to be open to children's ideas.

▪ The committee is open to suggestions.

▪ The owners of the building want to sell and are open to offers.

14.) ¦(NOT BLOCKED)¦

if a road or line of communication is open, it is not blocked and can be used

▪ We try to keep the mountain roads open all through the winter.

15.) ¦(SPREAD APART)¦

spread apart instead of closed, curled over, etc

▪ At night the flowers were open.

▪ Johnson raised an open hand.

▪ He was sitting in bed with a book lying open (=with its pages apart so it can be read) on his knees.

16.) an open mind

if you have an open mind, you deliberately do not make a decision or form a definite opinion about something

▪ It's important to keep an open mind as you study the topic.

17.) be open to question/doubt

if something is open to question, there are doubts about it

▪ Whether the new situation is an improvement is open to question.

18.) welcome/greet sb/sth with open arms

to be very pleased to see someone or something

▪ Mike will be welcomed back into the team with open arms.

19.) an open invitation

a) an invitation to visit someone whenever you like

b) something that makes it easier for criminals to steal, cheat etc

an open invitation to

▪ The lack of security measures provides an open invitation to crime.

20.) be an open book

to be something that you know and understand very well

▪ The natural world was an open book to him.

21.) the door is open

there is an opportunity for someone to do something

the door is open to

▪ Schoolgirls are being told that the door is open to them to pursue careers in science.

22.) keep your eyes/ears open

to keep looking or listening so that you will notice anything that is important, dangerous etc

23.) open weave/texture

cloth with an open weave or texture has wide spaces between the threads

→keep an eye open (for sth) at ↑eye¹ (14), with your eyes open at ↑eye¹ (19), ↑open-eyed

open ²

open² W1S1 v

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1¦(door/window etc)¦

2¦(container/package)¦

3¦(eyes)¦

4¦(mouth)¦

5¦(start operating)¦

6¦(shop/restaurant etc)¦

7¦(start an activity)¦

8¦(computer)¦

9¦(meeting/event)¦

10¦(official ceremony)¦

11¦(spread/unfold)¦

12¦(make a way through)¦

13¦(film/play etc)¦

14 open an account

15 open fire (on something)

16 open the door/way to something

17 open somebody's eyes (to something)

18 open your mind (to something)

19 open your heart (to somebody)

20 the heavens opened

Phrasal verbs

　open onto/into something

　open out

　open up

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1.) ¦(DOOR/WINDOW ETC)¦ [I and T]

to move a door, window etc so that people, things, air etc can pass through, or to be moved in this way

▪ Jack opened the window.

▪ He opened the drawer of the desk.

▪ She heard a door open and then close.

2.) ¦(CONTAINER/PACKAGE)¦ [T]

to unfasten or remove the lid, top, or cover of a container, package etc

▪ Louise opened a bottle of wine.

▪ He opened the letter and began to read it.

▪ The children were opening their presents.

▪ Mark was about to open a beer when the doorbell rang.

3.) ¦(EYES)¦ [I and T]

to raise your ↑eyelids so that you can see, or to be raised in this way

▪ Barry was awake long before he opened his eyes.

▪ Carrie smelled coffee and her eyes opened reluctantly.

4.) ¦(MOUTH)¦ [I and T]

to move your lips apart, or to be moved in this way

▪ He opened his mouth but couldn't think what to say.

5.) ¦(START OPERATING)¦ [I and T]

also open up

if a place such as an office, shop, restaurant etc opens or is opened, it starts operating or providing a service

▪ Sarah had recently opened an office in Genoa.

▪ French and Scandinavian offices are due to open in the autumn.

▪ The Forestry Commission has opened a plant centre selling rare plants.

▪ The centre has been a great success since it opened its doors a year ago.

6.) ¦(SHOP/RESTAURANT ETC)¦

[i]also open up

to start business, letting in customers or visitors, at a particular time

▪ What time do the banks open?

▪ The bakery opens early.

7.) ¦(START AN ACTIVITY)¦ [T]

to start an activity, event, or set of actions

▪ The US attorney's office has opened an investigation into the matter.

▪ An inquest into the deaths will be opened next week.

8.) ¦(COMPUTER)¦ [T]

to make a document or computer program ready to use

▪ Click on this icon to open the File Manager.

9.) ¦(MEETING/EVENT)¦ [I and T]

if a meeting etc opens or is opened in a particular way, it starts in that way

▪ Hughes, opening the Conference, made a dramatic plea for peace.

open with

▪ The concert opens with Beethoven's Egmont Overture.

10.)¦(OFFICIAL CEREMONY)¦ [T]

to perform a ceremony in which you officially state that a building is ready to be used

▪ The new County Hall building was officially opened by the King.

11.) ¦(SPREAD/UNFOLD)¦ [I and T]

to spread something out or unfold something, or to become spread out or unfolded

▪ She opened her umbrella.

▪ John opened his hand to show her he wasn't holding anything.

▪ The flowers only open during bright weather.

▪ I sat down and opened my book.

▪ She opened the curtains (=pulled the two curtains apart) .

▪ Dave opened his arms (=stretched his arms wide apart) to give her a hug.

12.) ¦(MAKE A WAY THROUGH)¦ [T]

to make it possible for cars, goods etc to pass through a place

▪ They were clearing away snow to open the tunnel.

▪ The peace treaty promises an end to war and opens the borders between the two countries.

13.) ¦(FILM/PLAY ETC)¦

to start being shown to the public

▪ Paula and Rachael star as mother and daughter in the play, which opens tonight.

▪ The film opened yesterday to excellent reviews.

14.) open an account

to start an account at a bank or other financial organization by putting money into it

▪ Mary was in the bank to ask about opening a current account.

15.) open fire (on sth)

to start shooting at someone or something

▪ Troops opened fire on the rioters.

16.) open the door/way to sth [i]also open doors

to make an opportunity for something to happen

▪ Research on genes should open the door to exciting new medical treatments.

▪ If the record is successful, it could open doors for my career.

17.) open sb's eyes (to sth)

to make someone realize something that they had not realized before

▪ The purpose of the training is to open managers' eyes to the consequences of their own behaviour.

18.) open your mind (to sth)

to be ready to consider or accept new ideas

19.) open your heart (to sb)

to tell someone your real thoughts and feelings because you trust them

20.) the heavens opened

literary it started to rain heavily

→open the floodgates at ↑floodgate

open onto/into [open onto/into sth] phr v

if a room, door etc opens onto or into another place, you can enter that other place directly through it

▪ The door opens onto a long balcony.

open out phr v

1.) if a road, path, or passage opens out, it becomes wider

open out into

▪ Beyond the forest the path opened out into a track.

2.) BrE if someone opens out, they become less shy

open up phr v

1.) ¦(OPPORTUNITY)¦

if opportunities open up, or a new situation opens them up, they become available or possible

▪ With a microscope, a whole new world of investigation opens up.

open sth<=>up

▪ The new international agreement opens up the possibility of much greater co-operation against terrorism.

2.) ¦(LAND)¦

open sth<=>up

if someone opens up an area of land, they make it easier to reach and ready for development

▪ The new road will open up 300 acres of prime development land.

3.) ¦(DOOR/CONTAINER ETC)¦

to open something that is closed, locked, or covered

▪ Open up, this is the police!

open sth<=>up

▪ He opened up his case and took out a clean sweater.

4.) ¦(SHOP/OFFICE ETC)¦

a) if a shop, office etc opens up or is opened up, someone starts it

b) if a shop, office etc opens up at a particular time, it starts business at that time

5.) ¦(DISAGREEMENT/DISCUSSION)¦

open sth<=>up

to start a discussion or argument

▪ The article was written with the intention of opening up a public debate.

6.) ¦(COMPETITION/RACE)¦

if someone opens up a lead in a competition or race, they increase the distance or number of points by which they are winning

7.) ¦(TALK)¦

to stop being shy and say what you really think

▪ Last night was the first time that Ken had opened up about his feelings.

8.) ¦(WITH A GUN)¦

to start shooting

9.) ¦(HOLE/CRACK ETC)¦

if a hole, crack etc opens up or is opened up, it appears and becomes wider

open ³

open³ n

1.) in the open

outdoors

▪ In the summer, we camped in the open .

2.) (out) in the open

information that is out in the open is not hidden or secret

▪ By now the whole affair was in the open.

▪ She never let her dislike for him come out into the open.

▪ All these concerns need to be brought out into the open .