opening
Americannoun
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an act or instance of making or becoming open.
The opening of the tomb gathered much publicity.
- Antonyms:
- closing
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the act of a person or thing that opens.
Her opening of the ceremony was brilliantly handled.
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an unobstructed or unoccupied space or place.
That narrow opening between buildings is a good place to shelter from the rain.
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a void in solid matter; a gap, hole, or aperture.
There was a little opening in the door they used as a peephole.
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a tract of land thinly wooded as compared with adjoining forest tracts.
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the act of beginning; start; commencement.
Tomorrow is the opening of a new session of Congress.
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the first part or initial stage of anything.
During the opening, the store had extra late hours.
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an employment vacancy; an unfilled position or job.
There are no openings for waitstaff at the moment.
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an opportunity; chance.
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a formal or official beginning, as of a sport season or a season's sale of goods.
Today marks the opening of the deer-hunting season.
Swimsuits sold well at the summer opening.
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the first performance of a theatrical production.
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the first public showing or use of something.
It's rare for there to be so many journalists at the opening of an art exhibition.
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a celebration of the first public showing or performance or of the first use or start of something.
The new supermarket is going to give away prizes at its opening.
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Law. the statement of the case made by counsel to the court or jury preliminary to adducing evidence.
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a mode of beginning a game.
a manual of chess openings.
adjective
noun
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the act of making or becoming open
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a vacant or unobstructed space, esp one that will serve as a passageway; gap
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a tract in a forest in which trees are scattered or absent
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the first part or stage of something
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the first performance of something, esp a theatrical production
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( as modifier )
the opening night
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a specific or formal sequence of moves at the start of any of certain games, esp chess or draughts
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an opportunity or chance, esp for employment or promotion in a business concern
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law the preliminary statement made by counsel to the court or jury before adducing evidence in support of his case
Other Word Forms
- preopening adjective
- self-opening adjective
- unopening adjective
Etymology
Origin of opening
First recorded in 1125–75; Middle English; open ( def. ) + -ing 1 ( def. )
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
When a rescheduled March 2026 opening was announced, there were reports — “Beware ‘reports,’ ” Gyllenhaal tells me, wryly — of behind-the-scenes clashes between the director and the studio.
From Los Angeles Times
The opening goal was a microcosm of all of those things.
From BBC
St. Aubin said he worries that healthcare may be holding up the labor market in terms of growth in jobs, and that job openings may be drying up.
From MarketWatch
Even tiny deviations might reveal subtle environmental disturbances, opening the door to extremely sensitive new types of sensors.
From Science Daily
He’s famous enough to be opening on Broadway in “King Lear,” but he has to be pushed onstage and is forgetting lines.
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
