closed

SayKLOHZD/kloʊzd/UK/kləʊzd/

21 meanings of closed

1
shutadjective
Shut, with an opening covered or blocked, as a container, door, or valve.
The container remained closed, keeping moisture away from the seeds inside.
With every vent closed, the room grew stuffy within minutes.
UsageDo not confuse with close (near), said with an s sound: a closed door is shut, a close friend is dear to you.
Note
Nursing gives this sense a precise job. In Pamela J. Carter and Susan Lewsen's Lippincott's Textbook for Nursing Assistants (2005), a closed bed has its top sheet, blanket and bedspread drawn up over it. Turn them back, or fanfold them, and it becomes an open bed, ready to receive a patient or resident. Here the word means covered and waiting, not shut away.
Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
Pamela J. Carter and Susan Lewsen wrote Lippincott's Textbook for Nursing Assistants. books.google.com
The book describes a closed bed with its coverings up, becoming an open bed ready for a patient or resident when those coverings are turned back or fanfolded. en.wiktionary.org
2
not openadjective
Not operating or doing business, as a shop or service outside its working hours.
The pharmacy on Main Street is closed after nine, so we'll have to wait until morning.
Most banks remain closed on national holidays.
UsageOften closed on a day, closed for a reason, closed until a time: closed on Sundays, closed for lunch.
Similarshut
Oppositeopen
3
shut (past)verb
Simple past and past participle of close, used for the action of closing something rather than the state of being closed.
The store closed its doors for the final time yesterday.
He closed the meeting with a few brief remarks.
Note
The simple past and the past participle share one regular form: the store closed, it has closed, it was closed by the council. The use after be sits right beside the adjective, and the line between them blurs. The door was closed can report either an action or a state. Every sense of the verb carries over, including closing a valve and closing a switch.
4
adjective
Not available for use or operation at present.
The application portal is closed until the next enrollment period.
The east elevator is closed for repairs, so visitors must take the stairs.
Similarunavailable, shut
Oppositeopen, available
5
no way throughadjective
Made impassable, so that traffic or movement cannot get through.
The mountain pass stays closed throughout the winter months.
Police left the highway closed while they cleared the wreck.
UsageOften closed to traffic, or closed for a reason: the bridge is closed for repairs.
Similarblocked, impassable, shut, inaccessible
Oppositeopen, passable
6
adjective
Not allowing visitors or the general public to enter.
The exhibit is closed to the public during private tours.
Officials kept the beach closed all weekend for safety.
UsageUsually closed to the public or closed to visitors.
Similarshut, off-limits
Oppositeopen, accessible
7
adjective
Drawn together, folded, or contracted, as a fist, the eyes, or the petals of a flower.
The flower's petals stayed closed until the morning sun warmed them.
At dusk the daisies fold their petals and stay closed until the sun comes up again.
Similarshut, clenched, folded
Oppositeopen
8
adjective
Restricted to a select group, such as members or chosen entrants, rather than open to the public.
The board held a closed session to discuss the layoffs.
Reporters were barred from the closed hearing.
UsageBefore nouns (a closed meeting, a closed hearing) and in in closed session, with no article.
Note
Here the doors are shut on deliberation rather than on a building. The sense forms set phrases: a closed committee, closed source, and a bill considered in closed session. Throughout, the word describes who may see or take part, not whether anything is physically shut.
9
adjective
Settled or finally decided, and no longer open for discussion or change.
As far as the committee is concerned, the issue is closed.
Once the deal was signed, negotiations were considered closed.
UsageOften in the matter is closed or case closed, said to end a discussion.
Similarsettled, decided, resolved, finished
Oppositeopen, unresolved, undecided
10
narrow-mindedadjective
Not receptive to new ideas, opinions, or outside influences.
The manager remained closed to suggestions from the team.
A closed attitude can make learning anything new very difficult.
UsageUsually closed to something: closed to new ideas, closed to advice; also a closed mind.
Similarunreceptive, resistant, narrow-minded, insular
Oppositeopen, receptive, open-minded

Less common meanings

11
adjective
Not currently in use; no longer connected to as a resource.
Once the connection is closed, the server frees the associated memory.
The database handle is closed, so any further queries will fail.
Oppositeopen
Note
In computing the word marks the last step of a familiar cycle. A program opens a file, connection or database handle, works with it, and then closes it. Closing releases the resource, and further reading or writing through the closed handle is normally rejected. Hence the routine advice to make sure all files are closed before you switch off the computer.
Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 4 facts
Programs open resources, use them, and then close them. www2.sqlite.org
Closing releases associated resources. docs.oracle.com
Reading or writing through a closed file object fails, but some operations remain permitted; Python allows repeated close() calls. docs.python.org
Advice to close files before switching off a computer is documented. rvs.umn.edu
12
ends joinedadjective
Of a curve, path, or walk: ending where it begins, so that it forms a complete, unbroken loop.
A closed curve, such as a circle, has no endpoints.
The track forms a closed loop, so runners return to where they started.
Note
Geometry's sense, the one behind a closed curve and a closed circuit, is about having no free ends: the path comes back to where it started. The same picture of a completed loop sits behind the electrical meaning, and in graph theory a closed walk ends at the vertex where it began.
Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
A closed curve returns to its starting point, forming a loop. en.wikipedia.org
The electrical meaning likewise concerns a complete circuit. eia.gov
A closed walk begins and ends at the same vertex. opentext.uleth.ca
13
electric circuitadjective
Positioned so that an electric circuit is complete and current can flow through it.
With the switch closed, current flows freely through the wiring.
Once the breaker is closed again, power returns to the kitchen outlets.
Similaron, complete
Note
Electricians call a switch closed when it lets current flow, which surprises anyone who has met the valve sense first. The governing image is the loop: a closed switch or circuit breaker completes an unbroken conducting path between source and load. The verb works the same way. To close a switch is to move it to the position that lets electricity through.
Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
A closed switch permits current to flow; actual current is not required. For example, current stops in a capacitor circuit at steady state even though the switch remains closed. openstax.org
Closing a circuit breaker makes a conducting connection. origin-edge.eaton.com
Closing a switch connects its terminals so electricity can pass through it. webhome.phy.duke.edu
14
one wordadjective
Of a compound: written with its parts joined into a single word, without spaces or hyphens.
The style guide recommends the closed compound 'database' rather than 'data base'.
Over time many open compounds become closed, losing the space between their parts.
Similarsolid
Oppositeopen
Note
Style guides use this term for one of three ways to write a compound: timeslot is closed, time-slot is hyphenated, and time slot is open. The closed form treats the compound as a single word, and compounds often drift toward it as they settle in. When choosing between the forms, a dictionary or house style is the usual arbiter.
Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
Compounds have closed, hyphenated and open spellings; the examples illustrate these forms, with the closed form written as one word. developers.google.com
Compounds often develop closed spellings as they become established. cleo.on.ca
Dictionaries and house style guide the choice of compound spelling. agu.org
15
adjective
Of a consonant: produced by completely blocking the mouth and nose passages, like /t/, /d/, and /p/.
16
adjective
Of a vowel: cut off sharply by a following consonant.
17
adjective
Of a set: having an open complement, so that the points not in it form an open set.
18
adjective
Of a set: having the property that the specified operation maps its elements back into the same set, so its image is contained within the set.
19
adjective
Of a formula or term: containing no free variables.
20
adjective
Having a striking face tilted downward or, for a right-handed player, turned counterclockwise from straight, as with a club, bat, or similar implement.
21
adjective
In heraldry, of a bird: depicted with its wings folded close to the body; a synonym of close.

closed is a form of close

close, verb: To move something, such as a door, lid, eyes or a valve, so that it covers an opening or leaves no gap; to shut. Full entry

Forms: closecloses he/she/itclosing -ing formclosed past tense, past participle
Spelling: close → closed: add -d
Sound: The ending sounds like /d/.

Practice

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