CLOSING

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does closing mean? 

• CLOSING (noun)
  The noun CLOSING has 5 senses:

1. the act of closing something

2. the last section of a communication

3. approaching a particular destination; a coming closer; a narrowing of a gap

4. termination of operations

5. a concluding action

  Familiarity information: CLOSING used as a noun is common.

• CLOSING (adjective)
  The adjective CLOSING has 1 sense:

1. final or ending

  Familiarity information: CLOSING used as an adjective is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• CLOSING (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The act of closing something

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

closing; shutting

Hypernyms ("closing" is a kind of...):

motility; motion; move; movement (a change of position that does not entail a change of location)

Antonym:

opening (the act of opening something)

Derivation:

close (move so that an opening or passage is obstructed; make shut)

close (become closed)

close (fill or stop up)

close (bar access to)

close (cause a window or an application to disappear on a computer desktop)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The last section of a communication

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

close; closing; conclusion; end; ending

Context example:

in conclusion I want to say...

Hypernyms ("closing" is a kind of...):

section; subdivision (a self-contained part of a larger composition (written or musical))

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "closing"):

anticlimax; bathos (a change from a serious subject to a disappointing one)

epilog; epilogue (a short passage added at the end of a literary work)

epilog; epilogue (a short speech (often in verse) addressed directly to the audience by an actor at the end of a play)

peroration ((rhetoric) the concluding section of an oration)

coda; finale (the closing section of a musical composition)

Holonyms ("closing" is a part of...):

narration; recital; yarn (the act of giving an account describing incidents or a course of events)

address; speech (the act of delivering a formal spoken communication to an audience)

Derivation:

close (come to a close)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Approaching a particular destination; a coming closer; a narrowing of a gap

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

closing; closure

Context example:

the ship's rapid rate of closing gave them little time to avoid a collision

Hypernyms ("closing" is a kind of...):

approach; approaching; coming (the act of drawing spatially closer to something)

Derivation:

close (unite or bring into contact or bring together the edges of)

close (draw near)

close (engage at close quarters)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Termination of operations

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

closedown; closing; closure; shutdown

Context example:

they regretted the closure of the day care center

Hypernyms ("closing" is a kind of...):

conclusion; ending; termination (the act of ending something)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "closing"):

bank closing (act of closing down a bank because of a fiscal emergency or failure)

layoff (the act of laying off an employee or a work force)

plant closing (act of shutting down operation of a plant)

Derivation:

close (cease to operate or cause to cease operating)

Sense 5

Meaning:

A concluding action

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

closing; completion; culmination; mop up; windup

Hypernyms ("closing" is a kind of...):

conclusion; ending; termination (the act of ending something)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "closing"):

consummation (the completion of marriage by sexual intercourse)

finish; finishing (the act of finishing)

finalisation; finalization (the act of finalizing)

follow-through (carrying some project or intention to full completion)

follow-through (the act of carrying a stroke to its natural completion)

graduation (the successful completion of a program of study)

consummation (the act of bringing to completion or fruition)

Derivation:

close (finish or terminate (meetings, speeches, etc.))

close (come to a close)

• CLOSING (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Final or ending

Context example:

closing remarks

Similar:

concluding; final; last; terminal (occurring at or forming an end or termination)

terminative (coming to an end)

year-end (taking place at the close of a fiscal year)

Antonym:

opening (first or beginning)

 Context examples 

Alternate views held that the opening and closing of the fractures allowed water vapor from below to reach the surface.

(101 Geysers on Icy Saturn Moon, NASA)

But before I could guess what he had comprehended, he had dropped the trap-door into place, closing the lazarette.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

“I was also aware of that,” murmured Holmes, settling himself down in his armchair and closing his eyes.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Hand control, including hand opening and closing, improved as well.

(Spinal cord stimulation helps paralyzed people move hands, NIH)

If you are a courtroom lawyer, for example, your opening and closing statements will now be off the charts with your moving ability to persuade others (i.e., the jury).

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

He unlocked the door, and we entered, closing it behind us.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

By June, satellite imagery showed that a sandbar had formed, closing off the crater.

(NASA Shows New Tongan Island Made of Tuff Stuff, Likely to Persist Years, NASA)

Scientists have disclosed new steps toward using natural adhesives made by the dusky Arion slug (Arion subfuscus) in medical applications such as in closing skin wounds and reducing scarring.

(New studies may bring slug-made glues closer to use in medicine, Wikinews)

Trees respond to the stress of drought by closing these pores.

(What's killing trees during droughts?, National Science Foundation)

He leaned forward, licking his lips, nervously spreading and closing his fingers, while he watched Martin write a check.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)