closure

American  

[kloh-zher] / ˈkloʊ ʒər /

noun

• closures
  plural

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

Derived Forms

• nonclosure
  noun
• preclosure
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• closures
  plural

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

See Examples For:

closure closures closured

"I don't know how long I will live with such uncertainty, but I want closure," she says.

From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2026

And the partial closure of the Strait of Hormuz reduced the supply of oil around the world.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 19, 2026

The high concentration of volcanic ash in the atmosphere forced the temporary closure of eight airports across Java and Sumatra.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 18, 2026

According to lawyers familiar with the case, per the Associated Press, the “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” star requested the modest payout as a form of closure.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026

I’m responsible for every subway delay, every road closure, the very phenomenon of wind resistance.

From "What If It's Us" by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera

This year’s El Niño has set off wildfires in Asia, hurricanes in the Pacific and fishery closures in South America.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026

Iran’s land borders were a mess before these latest closures, though.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026

Respondents in the Eaton fire footprint were “more than five times as likely as respondents in the Palisades fire footprint to report no awareness of road closures or no closure updates,” the report said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 15, 2026

Several planned road closures were in place across the day, meanwhile a burst water main at the roundabout near the A189 Redheugh Bridge caused traffic disruption around Gatehead.

From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026

She stanched the bleeding with wadded paper towels, then pulled out alcohol wipes and a pack of butterfly closures.

From "Pet" by Akwaeke Emezi

Theatres are facing lower sales from the cost-of-living crisis only a year after most re-opened following closured prompted by Covid lockdowns.

From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2022

"I've never met him," he answered, and closured my next question by jumping up and helping Mrs. Wylton out of the taxi.

From The Sixth Sense A Novel by Stephen McKenna

Bad enough to have Members working off at public meetings speeches that had been closured in Commons.

From Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 104, April 8, 1893 by Sir F. C. (Francis Cowley) Burnand

The qualifying adjective 'good' is dangerous, and before the time for the bill was half expired, Bozzy has closured it and the amendment.

From James Boswell Famous Scots Series by W. Keith (William Keith) Leask

Christian's response was closured by a wild outcry from the wood, hounds and horn lifting up their voices together in sudden delirium.

From Mount Music by Martin Ross

Related Words

• closing
• stoppage
• termination