open up

verb

opened up; opening up; opens up

transitive verb

1

: to make available or possible

The discovery opens up the possibility of new cures.

2

: to make plain or visible : disclose

3

: to open by cutting into

intransitive verb

1

: to become available or possible

The hostess will let us know when a table opens up.

2

: to spread out or come into view

The road opens up ahead.

3

: to commence firing

4

: to become communicative

tried to get the patient to open up

Examples of open up in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The Bombers opened up a three-game series against the red-hot Minnesota Twins at Yankee Stadium with a wire-to-wire 6-2 victory, mashing four homers behind another strong pitching performance from Will Warren. —James O'Connell, New York Daily News, 12 Aug. 2025

Travis Kelce is sweetly opening up about the parallels between Taylor Swift and Mama Kelce. —Brendan Morrow, USA Today, 12 Aug. 2025

He was controlled on the ground for the first two rounds, but showed some urgency in the third, opening up with his strikes on the ground and looking for submission openings. —Trent Reinsmith, Forbes.com, 12 Aug. 2025

In this still-early stage of the world’s clean-energy boom, though, mineral needs are shifting quickly and opening up opportunities for substitutes. —Alexander C. Kaufman, The Atlantic, 11 Aug. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1582, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Rhymes for open up

• buttercup
• backup
• blowup
• breakup
• buildup
• checkup
• cleanup
• holdup
• hookup
• lineup
• lockup
• makeup

Kids Definition

open up

verb

1

: to make available

2

: to make visible or come into view

the road opens up ahead

3

: to begin firing (as with a weapon or with questions)