Loading page
say it: OH-puhn
open is an adjective, verb and noun meaning "affording unobstructed entrance and exit; not shut or closed". It is pronounced /ˈoʊpən/ — OH-puhn. It carries 36 recorded senses.
affording unobstructed entrance and exit; not shut or closed
“an open door”
“they left the door open”
affording free passage or access
“open drains”
“the road is open to traffic”
“open ranks”
with no protection or shield
“the exposed northeast frontier”
“open to the weather”
“an open wound”
not defended or capable of being defended
“an open city”
“open to attack”
having no protecting cover or enclosure
“an open boat”
“an open fire”
“open sports cars”
not brought to a conclusion; subject to further thought
“an open question”
“our position on this bill is still undecided”
“our lawsuit is still undetermined”
without undue constriction as from e.g. tenseness or inhibition
“the clarity and resonance of an open tone”
“her natural and open response”
open and observable; not secret or hidden
“an overt lie”
“overt hostility”
“overt intelligence gathering”
“open ballots”
possibly accepting or permitting
“a passage capable of misinterpretation”
“open to interpretation”
“an issue open to question”
“the time is fixed by the director and players and therefore subject to much variation”
affording free passage or view
“a clear view”
“a clear path to victory”
“open waters”
“the open countryside”
openly straightforward and direct without reserve or secretiveness
“his candid eyes”
“an open and trusting nature”
“a heart-to-heart talk”
begin or set in action, of meetings, speeches, recitals, etc.
“He opened the meeting with a long speech”
spread out or open from a closed or folded state
“open the map”
“spread your arms”
have an opening or passage or outlet
“The bedrooms open into the hall”
where the air is unconfined
“he wanted to get outdoors a little”
“the concert was held in the open air”
“camping in the open”
a tournament in which both professionals and amateurs may play
information that has become public
“all the reports were out in the open”
“the facts had been brought to the surface”
Forms marked · are formed by the regular rule rather than recorded in the source data. English keeps a few hundred irregulars and the rest follow the pattern, so the rule is right far more often than not — but it is a rule, and the mark says so.
Definitions, synonyms and semantic relations for open come from Princeton University’s WordNet. The pronunciation comes from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. Commonness is measured against a corpus of everyday English. Full sources and licences.