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  • closed-door
    closed-door
    adjective
    held in strict privacy; not open to the press or the public.
  • closed door
    closed door

    An obstacle or restriction, as in There are no closed doors in the new field of gene therapy . [First half of 1900s]

closed-door

American  
[klohzd-dawr, -dohr] / ˈkloʊzdˈdɔr, -ˈdoʊr /

adjective

  1. held in strict privacy; not open to the press or the public.

    a closed-door strategy meeting of banking executives.


closed-door British  

adjective

  1. private; barred to members of the public

    a closed-door meeting

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

closed door Idioms  
  1. An obstacle or restriction, as in There are no closed doors in the new field of gene therapy . [First half of 1900s]

  2. close one's doors . See close down . Also see behind closed doors ; close the door .


Etymology

Origin of closed-door

First recorded in 1930–35

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.

See Examples For:

But the closed-door meeting ended without any firm announcement over US military assistance to Ukraine.

From BBC Jul. 28, 2026

The decision on whether to relieve Khan of his duties is now subject to a secret ballot by the 125 countries party to the International Criminal Court during a closed-door session.

From Barron's Jul. 24, 2026

Last summer, top Chinese chip developer Huawei Technologies held a closed-door briefing for the country’s technology czar to introduce its latest artificial-intelligence chips.

From The Wall Street Journal Jul. 24, 2026

Homelessness went up by 3.4% across the city compared to the previous year, according to two people familiar with the numbers presented by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority in closed-door briefings.

From Los Angeles Times Jul. 23, 2026

Cat wouldn’t miss that closed-door feeling when they were together in Georgia.

From "Caterpillar Summer" by Gillian McDunn

Like the angles I chose in photos, the way I shrunk myself to go unnoticed, the relief of a closed door.

From Los Angeles Times Mar. 13, 2026

Details of the performance are being kept secret - with "closed door rehearsals" at Manchester's Co-Op Arena barring everyone but essential staff.

From BBC Feb. 27, 2026

But mysticism also holds sway behind the closed door of politics.

From Barron's Dec. 21, 2025

“I want to show the reality of life, not only behind a closed door, curtains and, you know, a chandelier when you walk in,” Miranda said.

From Los Angeles Times Dec. 3, 2025

There he was, stretching out his arms above his head while he leaned up against the wall to the right of the closed door, his legs crossed in front of him.

From "The Marrow Thieves" by Cherie Dimaline

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