opened

past tense of open
1
2
3
as in expanded
to arrange the parts of (something) over a wider area when we got too close, the cardinal opened its wings and flew to a higher branch

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

4
as in freed
to rid the surface of (as an area) from things in the way snowplows opened the runway without much trouble

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

5

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of opened So So Fed opened for Sunday dinner — and nobody had assembled the siu mai dumplings. — Leah Asmelash, CNN Money, 19 Sep. 2026 Innovative methodologies, including demography and quantitative analysis, folklore, material culture, oral history, and family reconstitution opened new windows into the past. — Drew Gilpin Faust, The New York Review of Books, 19 Sep. 2026 Resident Evil opened in 3,684 North American theaters and carries a $75 million production budget. — Ryan Gajewski, HollywoodReporter, 19 Sep. 2026 Yet that’s hardly slowed the Dodgers, who opened their final homestand of the season having won 11 of their last 14 games. — Los Angeles Times, 19 Sep. 2026 Two years ago, OCPS opened its newest high school, Innovation High, in the Lake Nona area. — Steven Walker, The Orlando Sentinel, 19 Sep. 2026 Dixon caught eight passes for 131 yards for the Illini (2-1), who opened the season with three home games. — Steve Stein, Chicago Tribune, 19 Sep. 2026 The game opened somewhat as a pick’em, but has moved in favor of the Tigers taking this one. — David Troy Outkick, FOXNews.com, 19 Sep. 2026 In 2005, the Cage was opened by Ross (the Boss) Friedman, a founding member of the pugnacious and seminal punk band the Dictators, stalwarts of the early CBGB scene. — Amanda Petrusich, New Yorker, 7 Sep. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for opened
Verb
  • That story centers on the immense commercial potential unlocked by AI agents penetrating everyday consumer markets.
    — , CNBC, 23 Sep. 2026
  • Bonta said there was no key moment or provision that unlocked the deal, and struggled to offer a timeline of how the agreement came together.
    — Gene Maddaus, Variety, 21 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • The measure passed the Senate 86-11 in August and cleared the House 262-159 on Wednesday, sending it to Trump for his signature.
    — Samya Kullab, Los Angeles Times, 18 Sep. 2026
  • During the episode, Stiles revealed that Parton had cleared the use of the song prior to her death in August.
    — Emily Zemler, Rolling Stone, 17 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • What’s impressive is that the movie expanded its audience beyond the Milla Jovovich movies.
    — Anthony D'Alessandro, Deadline, 20 Sep. 2026
  • Haat has since expanded its services to allow users also to pay utility and phone bills with cash.
    — Mustafa Qadri, CNN Money, 20 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • Most of us who do philosophy began by hoping to find definitions too.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 18 Sep. 2026
  • Crews began working Monday on Pocket Road near East Shore Drive to replace a sewer manhole and about 50 feet of a sewer main and repave the intersection, according to the project’s webpage.
    — Madison Smalstig, Sacbee.com, 17 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • China’s trade with Africa last year was four times larger than Washington’s with the continent, and that gap looks set to widen after Beijing extended its zero-tariff policy across Africa.
    — Alexis Akwagyiram, semafor.com, 21 Sep. 2026
  • Furthermore, last Thursday, three mathematicians posted a proof of their own that showed that OpenAI’s method can never be extended to solve the full problem.
    — Joseph Howlett, Scientific American, 21 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • Then the Padres commenced giving him a big cushion, scoring two runs in the second inning and batting around and scoring five times in the second.
    — Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Sep. 2026
  • As the wreckage of the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers smoldered, the United States commenced military operations in Afghanistan.
    — Daniel Byman, Foreign Affairs, 8 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • Significant moment for konpa Larivière’s tour has unfolded at a particularly significant moment for konpa, which was created in 1955 by Haitian saxophonist and bandleader Nemours Jean-Baptiste and marked its 70th birthday last year.
    — Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 23 Sep. 2026
  • In the paper, the team reconstructed how the collapse of the Hunga volcano unfolded.
    — Yook Ji Hun, ArsTechnica, 23 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • The escalation ended a 2022 ceasefire that largely ended fighting in Yemen's civil war, which started when the Houthis swept in from their mountainous heartland and seized much of northern and central Yemen, including Sanaa, 12 years ago.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 21 Sep. 2026
  • Ildemaro Vargas started the ninth with a walk, winning an ABS challenge on a full-count pitch initially called a strike.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 20 Sep. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Opened.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/opened. Accessed 25 Sep. 2026.

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