open

1 : having no enclosing or confining barrier : accessible on all or nearly all sides cattle grazing on an open range

2a(1) : being in a position or adjustment to permit passage : not shut or locked an open door

(2) : having a barrier (such as a door) so adjusted as to allow passage the house was open

b : having the lips parted stood there with his mouth wide open

c : not buttoned or zipped an open shirt

3a : completely free from concealment : exposed to general view or knowledge their hostilities eventually erupted with open war

b : exposed or vulnerable to attack or question : subject open to doubt

c : being an operation or surgical procedure in which an incision is made such that the tissues are fully exposed

4a : not covered with a top, roof, or lid an open car her eyes were open

b : having no protective covering open wiring

5a : having the skin cracked, cut, or broken so that underlying tissue is exposed abrasions, lacerations, and other open wounds — see also open fracture

b of a head injury : marked by fracture or penetration of the skull

6 : not restricted to a particular group or category of participants open to the public open housing : such as

a : enterable by both amateur (see amateur sense 1) and professional (see professional entry 1 sense 2a) contestants an open tournament

b : enterable by a registered voter regardless of political affiliation an open primary

7 : fit to be traveled over : presenting no obstacle to passage or view the open road open country

8 : having the parts or surfaces laid out in an expanded position : spread out : unfolded an open book

9a(1) : low sense 13 an open vowel

(2) : formed with the tongue in a lower position Italian has an open and a close e

b(1) : having clarity and resonance unimpaired by undue tension or constriction of the throat an open vocal tone

(2) of a tone : produced by an open string or on a wind instrument by the lip without the use of slides, valves, or keys

10a : available to follow or make use of the only course open to us

b : not taken up with duties or engagements keep an hour open on Friday

c : not finally decided : subject to further consideration the salary is open an open question

d : available for a qualified applicant : vacant the job is still open

e : remaining available for use or filling until canceled an open order for more items

f : available for future purchase these items are in open stock

g : available for breeding : not now pregnant an open heifer

h computers : not proprietary : available to third party developers But while IBM pushes Notes, a proprietary technology created in the 1980s, a raft of new and much smaller rivals is plying the "open" technology of the 1990s: software on the World Wide Web, the fastest growing part of the Internet.— Bart Ziegler — compare open-source

11a : characterized by ready accessibility and usually generous attitude: such as

(1) : generous in giving

(2) : willing to hear and consider or to accept and deal with : responsive open to an offer open to suggestion

(3) : free from reserve or pretense : frank was open about his personal life

(4) of a relationship : not restricted to one partner at a time by mutual agreement — see also open marriage

b : accessible to the influx of new factors (such as foreign goods) an open market

12a : having openings, interruptions, or spaces open mesh : such as

(1) : being porous (see porous sense 2a) and friable open soil

(2) : sparsely distributed : scattered open population

(3) of a compound : having components (see component entry 1 sense 1) separated by a space in writing or printing (such as opaque projector)

b : not made up of a continuous closed circuit (see circuit entry 1 sense 2a) of channels the insect circulatory system is open

13a of an organ pipe : not stopped at the top

b of a string on a musical instrument : not stopped by the finger

14 : being in operation an open microphone especially : ready for business, patronage, or use the store is open from 9 to 5 the new highway will be open next week

15a(1) : characterized by lack of effective regulation of various commercial enterprises (see enterprise sense 2) an open town

(2) : not repressed (see repress sense 1) by legal controls open gambling

b : free from checking or hampering restraints an open economy

c : relatively unguarded by opponents passed to an open teammate

16 : having been opened by a first ante, bet, or bid the bidding is open

17 of punctuation : characterized by sparing use especially of the comma when possible without causing misinterpretation

18a : containing none of its endpoints an open interval

b : being a set or composed of sets each point of which has a neighborhood all of whose points are contained in the set the interior of a sphere is an open set

19a : being an incomplete electrical circuit

b : not allowing the flow of electricity an open switch

20 of a universe : having insufficient mass (see mass entry 2 sense 1c) to halt expansion gravitationally

Definition of open

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