"opening" in the noun sense
1. opening, gap
an open or empty space in or between things
"there was a small opening between the trees"
"the explosion made a gap in the wall"
2. opening
a ceremony accompanying the start of some enterprise
3. opening
becoming open or being made open
"the opening of his arms was the sign I was waiting for"
4. opening, opening night, curtain raising
the first performance (as of a theatrical production
"the opening received good critical reviews"
5. opening
the act of opening something
"the ray of light revealed his cautious opening of the door"
6. opening
opportunity especially for employment or promotion
"there is an opening in the sales department"
7. opening
the initial part of the introduction
"the opening established the basic theme"
8. possibility, possible action, opening
a possible alternative
"bankruptcy is always a possibility"
9. orifice, opening, porta
an aperture or hole that opens into a bodily cavity
"the orifice into the aorta from the lower left chamber of the heart"
10. opening
a vacant or unobstructed space that is man-made
"they left a small opening for the cat at the bottom of the door"
11. hatchway, opening, scuttle
an entrance equipped with a hatch especially a passageway between decks of a ship
12. opening, chess opening
a recognized sequence of moves at the beginning of a game of chess
"he memorized all the important chess openings"
13. first step, initiative, opening move, opening
the first of a series of actions
"opening" in the verb sense
1. open, open up
cause to open or to become open
"Mary opened the car door"
2. open, open up
start to operate or function or cause to start operating or functioning
"open a business"
3. open, open up
become open
"The door opened"
4. open
begin or set in action, of meetings, speeches, recitals, etc.
"He opened the meeting with a long speech"
5. unfold, spread, spread out, open
spread out or open from a closed or folded state
"open the map"
"spread your arms"
6. open, open up
make available
"This opens up new possibilities"
7. open, open up
become available
"an opportunity opened up"
8. open
have an opening or passage or outlet
"The bedrooms open into the hall"
9. open
make the opening move
"Kasparov opened with a standard opening"
10. afford, open, give
afford access to
"the door opens to the patio"
"The French doors give onto a terrace"
11. open
display the contents of a file or start an application as on a computer
"opening" in the adjective sense
1. opening
first or beginning
"the memorable opening bars of Beethoven's Fifth"
"the play's opening scene"
Source: WordNet® (An amazing lexical database of English)
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