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

That pickup over the first four months of the war between the U.S. and Iran was almost entirely due to higher energy prices, driven by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz to tanker traffic.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026

The sharp pullback comes despite the virtual closure of the Strait of Hormuz and Houthi threats against Saudi ships in the Red Sea keeping oil flows out of the Gulf region to a trickle.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026

Prosecutor David Matthew previously told the court that Day's actions triggered an emergency services response which caused "serious disruption", including the closure of Westminster Bridge.

From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026

“We hope these findings provide them with some measure of peace and closure after several difficult months.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026

At the start of 2007, Megan and Leila were struggling to find anything close to closure around Keith’s death.

From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel

Leveraged ETFs and their siblings, inverse funds, are risky, and their frenzied proliferation that kicked into overdrive 2025 may be overshadowing their big jump in closures this year.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026

Daniel Day's actions triggered an emergency service response and caused road closures when he scaled the Elizabeth Tower in Westminster on 8 March 2025 causing "serious disruption".

From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026

Nearly 100,000 people have been affected by evacuation or stay-at-home orders because of the fires, which have burned through campsites and forced road closures.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026

This has been whispered about and lamented since the COVID-19 pandemic led to temporary theater closures across the country that have since become permanent, but it is rare to hear it expressed so candidly.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 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

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 Ross, Martin

"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 McKenna, Stephen

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 Burnand, F. C. (Francis Cowley), Sir

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 Leask, W. Keith (William Keith)

Related Words

• closing
• stoppage
• termination