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

Explanation

Closure is the end or the closing down of something. It can be physical — like the closure of your local library — or emotional, like the closure you experience when you finally come to terms with the end of a romance. Closure comes from the Latin claus ("shut"), and it has many different shades of meaning. A road closure blocks that road from traffic. If you find closure after an emotional hardship, you're ready to move on. An obstruction in a small passage, like a pipe, is also a closure, as is the button on your sweater. In debate, closure (usually cloture), stops debate and starts the vote.

Example Sentences

However, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the jump in energy prices threaten to deliver a fresh blow as the economy shows signs of a pickup.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 14, 2026

The local currency is pegged to the dollar, and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz has disrupted the flow of dollars into the U.A.E. economy.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 14, 2026

The temporary road closure notice issued by the council confirmed the road would reopen as soon as work was finished, which could be earlier than advertised.

From BBC • May 13, 2026

A total of 85 employees will be affected by the closure, according to the notice.

From Los Angeles Times • May 13, 2026

He said he had to, that he needed closure, too.

From "P.S. I Miss You" by Jen Petro-Roy

Related Words

• closing
• stoppage
• termination