close up

1. 1.

   cease to operate or cause to cease operating

   “The owners decided to move and to close the factory”

   “My business closes every night at 8 P.M.”

   “close up the shop”

   Synonymsclosefoldshut downclose down

   Narroweradjourn
2. 2.

   block passage through

   “obstruct the path”

   Synonymsobstructobturateimpedeoccludejamblock

   Broaderimpede

   Narrowerblockadebarricadesuffocatetie updamscreenland upclog
3. 3.

   unite or bring into contact or bring together the edges of

   “close the circuit”

   “close a wound”

   “close a book”

   “close up an umbrella”

   Synonymsclose

   Broaderjoin
4. 4.

   refuse to talk or stop talking; fall silent

   “The children shut up when their father approached”

   Synonymsclam updummy upshut upbelt upbutton upbe quietkeep mum

   Antonymsopen up

1. 1.

   very close

   “without my reading glasses I can hardly see things close up”

   “even firing at close range he missed”

   Synonymsat close range

Questions about close up

What does close up mean?

close up means "cease to operate or cause to cease operating". That is the primary sense; the word has 5 in total, listed in full on this page.

What is another word for close up?

Close synonyms include close, fold, shut down, close down, obstruct. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.

What is the opposite of close up?

The recorded antonyms are open up.

Is close up a common word?

close up is banded "Common" — everyday vocabulary in speech and writing. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.