reopen
verb
re·open
(ˌ)rē-ˈō-pən 
-ˈō-pᵊm
reopened; reopening; reopens
1
: to open again
2
a
: to take up again : resume
reopen discussion
b
: to resume discussion or consideration of
reopen a contract
3
: to begin again
: to open again
school reopens in September
Examples of reopen in a Sentence
The restaurant will reopen in April.
I'm sorry, but the store is closed. We reopen at nine on Monday.
The cut on his knee reopened when he tried to run.
The company announced plans to reopen its Detroit factory.
a procedure to reopen a clogged artery
The district attorney reopened the murder case because new evidence was found.
He wants the team to reopen his contract.
Recent Examples on the Web
The village pub, The White Lion, is set to reopen soon following a major 2025 refurbishment.
—
Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 12 Mar. 2026
The 4-1 zoning decision comes after nearly a year of CoreCivic arguing in court that it should be allowed to reopen its facility without a permit.
—Matthew Kelly, Kansas City Star, 11 Mar. 2026
Locke High, located in Watts, reopened as a charter school in 2008 after a political battle between forces for and against charter schools, which are privately managed public schools, most of which are nonunion.
—Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times, 11 Mar. 2026
The lapse marks the third shutdown in less than a year to leave TSA workers temporarily without pay — and once the government reopens, to have to wait for backpay.
—Rio Yamat, Chicago Tribune, 11 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for reopen
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 12 Mar. 2026
The 4-1 zoning decision comes after nearly a year of CoreCivic arguing in court that it should be allowed to reopen its facility without a permit.
—Matthew Kelly, Kansas City Star, 11 Mar. 2026
Locke High, located in Watts, reopened as a charter school in 2008 after a political battle between forces for and against charter schools, which are privately managed public schools, most of which are nonunion.
—Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times, 11 Mar. 2026
The lapse marks the third shutdown in less than a year to leave TSA workers temporarily without pay — and once the government reopens, to have to wait for backpay.
—Rio Yamat, Chicago Tribune, 11 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for reopen
Cite this Entry
“Reopen.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/reopen. Accessed 13 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
reopen
verb
re·open
(ˈ)rē-ˈō-pən
-ˈōp-ᵊn
1
: to open again
2
: to take up again : resume
reopen the discussion
Legal Definition
reopen
transitive verb
re·open
ˌrē-ˈō-pən
1
: to take up again
reopen discussion
2
: to resume the discussion or consideration of (a closed matter)
reopen the contract to negotiate benefits
3
: to try or hear (an action) anew especially for the purpose of hearing new evidence
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
