opening
Americannoun
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an act or instance of making or becoming open.
The opening of the tomb gathered much publicity.
- Antonyms:
- closing
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the act of a person or thing that opens.
Her opening of the ceremony was brilliantly handled.
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an unobstructed or unoccupied space or place.
That narrow opening between buildings is a good place to shelter from the rain.
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a void in solid matter; a gap, hole, or aperture.
There was a little opening in the door they used as a peephole.
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a tract of land thinly wooded as compared with adjoining forest tracts.
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the act of beginning; start; commencement.
Tomorrow is the opening of a new session of Congress.
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the first part or initial stage of anything.
During the opening, the store had extra late hours.
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an employment vacancy; an unfilled position or job.
There are no openings for waitstaff at the moment.
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an opportunity; chance.
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a formal or official beginning, as of a sport season or a season's sale of goods.
Today marks the opening of the deer-hunting season.
Swimsuits sold well at the summer opening.
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the first performance of a theatrical production.
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the first public showing or use of something.
It's rare for there to be so many journalists at the opening of an art exhibition.
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a celebration of the first public showing or performance or of the first use or start of something.
The new supermarket is going to give away prizes at its opening.
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Law. the statement of the case made by counsel to the court or jury preliminary to adducing evidence.
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a mode of beginning a game.
a manual of chess openings.
adjective
noun
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the act of making or becoming open
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a vacant or unobstructed space, esp one that will serve as a passageway; gap
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a tract in a forest in which trees are scattered or absent
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the first part or stage of something
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the first performance of something, esp a theatrical production
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( as modifier )
the opening night
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a specific or formal sequence of moves at the start of any of certain games, esp chess or draughts
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an opportunity or chance, esp for employment or promotion in a business concern
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law the preliminary statement made by counsel to the court or jury before adducing evidence in support of his case
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of opening
First recorded in 1125–75; Middle English; open ( def. ) + -ing 1 ( def. )
Explanation
An opening is an empty space. That opening in the back of your closet might lead to a secret room. A job opening, on the other hand, is an available job that could open you up to an entirely new career. There are openings in crowds you can slip through if you're in a hurry, and openings, or availabilities, in classes you really want to take. You can also use this versatile noun to mean the very first performance of a play or the initial night of an art show. Many things that come first are openings, in fact, like the opening move in a chess game or the opening scene of your novel.
Vocabulary lists containing opening
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:
The pushback against human involvement similarly dogged Koji Kinjo's 2009 opening of an "artificial sea" that he built from scratch in the village of Yomitan.
From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026
Mr. Garson, a professor of philosophy at the City University of New York, has written previously on mental illness, and the opening pages tell us why the topic captivated him.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
Nolan spent $250 million making “The Odyssey,” and on opening weekend the film brought in a total of $264.1 million worldwide, according to studio estimates.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
In total just under 7,000 patients had been seen between the opening of the first centre on 10 February 2026 and the end of June 2026.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
Yet there is a visible hole in the top, a small triangular opening the size of a quarter, where the iron either smashed or carried away the bone completely.
From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman
Since then, Iran has dug out the openings and resumed firing from some of the bases, analysts said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
A new branch in Ontario Ranch is scheduled to open July 23, and more openings are planned for later this summer.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026
Observing the Poisson spot provided convincing evidence that light undergoes diffraction, meaning it bends and spreads as it passes around objects or through small openings.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 13, 2026
A number of primary and secondary schools in areas including London, Salford, the Midlands and County Durham said they are moving openings to around 10:00.
From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026
To go back through the Tombs would mean going past those dark openings in the Tombs; and what might come out of them?
From "The Horse and His Boy" by C.S. Lewis
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
