open up

1. 1.

   cause to open or to become open

   “Mary opened the car door”

   Synonymsopen

   Narrowerunbarbreak openclick openreopenunlockunboltunsealuncorkprygap
2. 2.

   become available

   “an opportunity opened up”

   Synonymsopen

   Broaderarise
3. 3.

   make available

   “This opens up new possibilities”

   Synonymsopen

   Broaderyield
4. 4.

   open up an area or prepare a way

   “She pioneered a graduate program for women students”

   Synonymspioneer

   Broaderintroduce
5. 5.

   start to operate or function or cause to start operating or functioning

   “open a business”

   Synonymsopen

   Narrowerestablish
6. 6.

   become open

   “The door opened”

   Synonymsopen

   Broaderchange state

   Narrowerunfastenfly open
7. 7.

   talk freely and without inhibition

   Antonymsclose up

   Broadertalk

Questions about open up

What does open up mean?

open up means "cause to open or to become open". That is the primary sense; the word has 7 in total, listed in full on this page.

What is another word for open up?

Close synonyms include open, open, open, pioneer, open. 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 open up?

The recorded antonyms are close up.

Is open up a common word?

open 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.