closure

American  

[kloh-zher] / ˈkloʊ ʒər /

noun

1. the act of closing; the state of being closed.

2. a bringing to an end; conclusion.

3. something that closes or shuts.

4. closer.

5. an architectural screen or parapet, especially one standing free between columns or piers.

6. Phonetics. an occlusion of the vocal tract as an articulatory feature of a particular speech sound.

7. Parliamentary Procedure. a cloture.

8. Surveying. completion of a closed traverse in such a way that the point of origin and the endpoint coincide within an acceptably small margin of error.

9. Mathematics.

   1. the property of being closed with respect to a particular operation.

   2. the intersection of all closed sets that contain a given set.

10. Psychology.

    1. the tendency to see an entire figure even though the picture of it is incomplete, based primarily on the viewer's past experience.

    2. a sense of psychological certainty or completeness.

       a need for closure.

11. Obsolete. something that encloses or shuts in; enclosure.

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verb (used with or without object)

closured, closuring

1. Parliamentary Procedure. to cloture.

closure British  

/ ˈkləʊʒə /

noun

1. the act of closing or the state of being closed

2. an end or conclusion

3. something that closes or shuts, such as a cap or seal for a container

4. (in a deliberative body) a procedure by which debate may be halted and an immediate vote taken See also cloture guillotine gag rule

5. 1. the resolution of a significant event or relationship in a person's life

   2. a sense of contentment experienced after such a resolution

6. geology the vertical distance between the crest of an anticline and the lowest contour that surrounds it

7. phonetics the obstruction of the breath stream at some point along the vocal tract, such as the complete occlusion preliminary to the articulation of a stop

8. logic

   1. the closed sentence formed from a given open sentence by prefixing universal or existential quantifiers to bind all its free variables

   2. the process of forming such a closed sentence

9. maths

   1. the smallest closed set containing a given set

   2. the operation of forming such a set

10. psychol the tendency, first noted by Gestalt psychologists, to see an incomplete figure like a circle with a gap in it as more complete than it is

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verb

1. (tr) (in a deliberative body) to end (debate) by closure

Other Word Forms

• nonclosure noun
• preclosure noun

Etymology

Origin of closure

1350–1400; Middle English < Middle French < Latin clausūra. See close, -ure

Example Sentences

Krinsky observed that the ETF lost most of its value before closing in December 2020, while the Dow Jones Coal Index has seen a massive surge since the ETF’s closure.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 4, 2026

Also Thursday, the U.K. convened diplomats from more than 40 countries to discuss how to reopen the strait without military force and keep it secure postwar—comparing its closure to a hijacking of the global economy.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 2, 2026

But if the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz extends beyond the end of April, then Goldman Sachs analysts have forecast the price of Brent crude could rise to around $140 a barrel.

From Barron's • Apr. 2, 2026

She said the closure of shops was a "massive shame", adding: "They might have lost quite a lot of money from that. A lot of the staff are very frightened."

From BBC • Apr. 1, 2026

But how do you get closure when your mom breaks the law?

From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller

Related Words

• closing
• stoppage
• termination