GNU Collaborative International Dictionary of English

last match results

Found 2 definitions

1.       
   Open v. t. [imp. & p. p. Opened (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Opening.] [AS. openian. See Open,a.]
   1. To make or set open; to render free of access; to unclose; to unbar; to unlock; to remove any fastening or covering from; as, “to open a door; to open a box; to open a room; to open a letter.”
   
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   And all the windows of my heart
   
   I open to the day. Whittier.
   
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   2. To spread; to expand; as, “to open the hand”.
   
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   3. To disclose; to reveal; to interpret; to explain.
   
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   The king opened himself to some of his council, that he was sorry for the earl's death. Bacon.
   
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   Unto thee have I opened my cause. Jer. xx. 12.
   
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   While he opened to us the Scriptures. Luke xxiv. 32.
   
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   4. To make known; to discover; also, to render available or accessible for settlements, trade, etc.
   
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   The English did adventure far for to open the North parts of America. Abp. Abbot.
   
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   5. To enter upon; to begin; as, “to open a discussion; to open fire upon an enemy; to open trade, or correspondence; to open an investigation; to open a case in court, or a meeting.”
   
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   6. To loosen or make less compact; as, “to open matted cotton by separating the fibers”.
   
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   To open one's mouth, to speak. -- To open up, to lay open; to discover; to disclose.
   
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   Poetry that had opened up so many delightful views into the character and condition of our “bold peasantry, their country's pride.” Prof. Wilson.
   
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2.       
   Opening, n.
   1. The act or process of opening; a beginning; commencement; first appearance; as, “the opening of a speech”.
   
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   The opening of your glory was like that of light. Dryden.
   
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   2. A place which is open; a breach; an aperture; a gap; cleft, or hole.
   
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   We saw him at the opening of his tent. Shak.
   
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   3. Hence: An opportunity; as, “an opening for business”. [Colloq.]  Dickens.
   
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   4. Hence: A vacant place; a job which does not have a current occupant; as, “they are now interviewing candidates for the two openings in the department”.
   
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   5. A thinly wooded space, without undergrowth, in the midst of a forest; a clearing; as, “oak openings”. [U.S.]  Cooper.
   
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