Opening

/ˈəʊ.pə.nɪŋ/ · verb

Meaning

present participle and gerund of open.

Definitions by Sense

1. present participle and gerund of open
2. Pertaining to the start or beginning of a series of events.
3. (cricket) Of the first period of play, usually up to the fall of the first wicket.
4. (cricket) Of the batsman who opens the innings or of a bowler who opens the attack.
5. An act or instance of making or becoming open.
6. A gap permitting passage through.
7. An act or instance of beginning.
8. Something that is a beginning.

Example Sentences

The opening theme of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony is, perhaps, the most recognizable in all of European art music.

The opening act of the battle for Fort Sumter was the firing of a single 10-inch mortar round from Fort Johnson at 4:30 a.m. on April 12, 1861, by Lt. Henry S. Farley, who acted upon the command of Capt. George S. James, which round exploded over Fort Sumter as a signal to open the general bombardment from 43 guns and mortars at Fort Moultrie, Fort Johnson, the floating battery, and Cummings Point.

The daily openings of the day lily bloom gives it its name.

He remembered fondly the Christmas morning opening of presents.

A salamander darted out of an opening in the rocks.

He slipped through an opening in the crowd.

He held that great exactness in craniotopography is unnecessary, all that is needed being to make a sufficiently large opening.

Specialised long-reach excavators with a clamshell grab then reach though the openings to lift the spoil to the surface, which is then deposited in articulated dump trucks (ADTs).

Synonyms for opening

Antonyms for opening

Related Words

Word Forms

• openings

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

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