OPEN, a o'pn.

1. Unclosed; not shut; as, the gate is open; an open door or window; an open book; open eyes.
2. Spread; expanded. He received his son with open arms.
3. Unsealed; as, an open letter.
4. Not shut or fast; as, an open hand.
5. Not covered; as, the open sir; an open vessel.
6. Not covered with trees; clear; as, an open country or field.
7. Not stopped; as, an open bottle.
8. Not fenced or obstructed; as, an open road.
9. Not frosty; warmer than usual; not freezing severely; as, an open winter. An open and warm winter portendeth a hot and dry summer. Bacon. Johnson interprets open, in this passage, by not cloudy, not gloomy. I think the definition wrong. In America, an open winter is one in which the earth is not bound with frost and covered with snow.
10. Public; before a court and its suitors. His testimony was given in open court.
11. Admitting all persons without restraint; free to all comers. He keeps open house at the election.
12. Clear of ice; as, the river or the harbor is open.
13. Plain; apparent; evident; public; not secret or concealed; as, an open declaration; open avowal; open shame; open defiance. The nations contend in open war or in open arms.
14. Not wearing disguise; frank; sincere; unreserved; candid; artless. He was held a man open and of good faith. Bacon. His generous, open, undersigning heart. Addison.
15. Not clouded; not contracted or frowning; having an air of frankness and sincerity; as, an open look. With aspect open shall erect his head. Pope.
16. Not hidden; exposed to view. We are to exercise our thoughts and lay open the treasures of divine truth. Burnet.
17. Ready to hear or receive what is offered. His ears are open to their cry. Ps. xxxiv.
18. Free to be employed for redress; not restrained or denied; not precluding any person. The law is open. Acts xix.
19. Exposed; not protected; without defense. The country is open to invaders. Hath left me open to all injuries. Shak.
20. Attentive; employed in inspection. Thine eyes are open upon all the ways of the sons of men. Jer. xxxii.
21. Clear; unobstructed; as, an open view.
22. Unsettled; not balanced or closed; as, an open account Open accounts between merchants. Johnson's Rep.
23. Not closed; free to be debated; as, a question open for discussion.
24. In music, an open note is that which a string is tuned to produce. Busby.

1. To unclose itself; to be unclosed; to be parted. The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan, and covered the company of Abiram. Ps. cvi.
2. To begin to appear. As we sailed round the point, the harbor opened to our view.
3. To commence; to begin. Sales of stock opened at par.
4. To bark; a term in hunting.

1. To unclose; to unbar; to unlock; to remove any fastening or cover and set open; as, to open a door or gate; to open a desk.
2. To break the seal of a letter and unfold it.
3. To separate parts that are close; as, to open the lips; to open the mouth or eyes or eyelids; to open a book.
4. To remove a covering from; as, to open a pit.
5. To cut through; to perforate; to lance; as, to open the skin; to open an abscess.
6. To break; to divide; to split or rend; as, the earth was opened in many places by an earthquake; a rock is opened by blasting.
7. To clear; to make by removing obstructions; as, to open a road; to open a passage; the heat of spring opens rivers bound with ice.
8. To spread; to expand; as, to open the hand.
9. To unstop; as, to open a bottle.
10. To begin; to make the first exhibition. The attorney-general opens the cause on the part of the king or the state. Homer opens his poem with the utmost simplicity and modesty.
11. To show; to bring to view or knowledge. The English did adventure far to open the north parts of America. Abbot.
12. To interpret; to explain. While he opened to us the Scriptures. Luke xxiv.
13. To reveal; to disclose. He opened his mind very freely.
14. To make liberal; as, to open the heart.
15. To make the first discharge of artillery; as, to open a heavy fire on the enemy.
16. To enter on or begin; as, to open a negotiation or correspondence; to open a trade with the Indies.
17. To begin to see by the removal of something that intercepted the view; as, we sailed round the point and opened the harbor.

1. Free of access; not shut up; not closed; affording unobstructed ingress or egress; not impeding or preventing passage; not locked up or covered over; -- applied to passageways; as, an open door, window, road, etc.; also, to inclosed structures or objects; as, open houses, boxes, baskets, bottles, etc.; also, to means of communication or approach by water or land; as, an open harbor or roadstead.
   
   

   Through the gate,
   Wide open and unquarded, Satan passed. Milton

   Also, figuratively, used of the ways of communication of the mind, as by the senses; ready to hear, see, etc.; as, to keep one's eyes and ears open.

   His ears are open unto their cry. Ps. xxxiv. 15.

2. Open or unobstructed space; clear land, without trees or obstructions; open ocean; open water.
   
   
   "To sail into the open." Jowett (Thucyd. ).

   Then we got into the open. W. Black.

   In open, in full view; without concealment; openly. [Obs.] Beau. *** Fl.

3. To make or set open] to render free of access; to unclose; to unbar; to unlock; to remove any fastening or covering from; as, to open a door; to open a box; to open a room; to open a letter.
   
   

   And all the windows of my heart
   I open to the day. Whittier.

4. To unclose; to form a hole, breach, or gap; to be unclosed; to be parted.
   
   

   The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan, and covered the company of Abiram. Ps. cvi. 17.

5. Free to be used, enjoyed, visited, or the like; not private; public; unrestricted in use; as, an open library, museum, court, or other assembly; liable to the approach, trespass, or attack of any one; unprotected; exposed.
   
   

   If Demetrius . . . have a matter against any man, the law is open and there are deputies. Acts xix. 33.

   The service that I truly did his life,
   Hath left me open to all injuries. Shak.

6. To spread; to expand; as, to open the hand.
7. To expand; to spread out; to be disclosed; as, the harbor opened to our view.
8. Free or cleared of obstruction to progress or to view; accessible; as, an open tract; the open sea.
9. To disclose; to reveal; to interpret; to explain.
   
   

   The king opened himself to some of his council, that he was sorry for the earl's death. Bacon.

   Unto thee have I opened my cause. Jer. xx. 12.

   While he opened to us the Scriptures. Luke xxiv. 32.

10. To begin; to commence; as, the stock opened at par; the battery opened upon the enemy.
11. Not drawn together, closed, or contracted; extended; expanded; as, an open hand; open arms; an open flower; an open prospect.
    
    

    Each, with open arms, embraced her chosen knight. Dryden.

12. To make known; to discover; also, to render available or accessible for settlements, trade, etc.
    
    

    The English did adventure far for to open the North parts of America. Abp. Abbot.

13. To bark on scent or view of the game.
14. Without reserve or false pretense; sincere; characterized by sincerity; unfeigned; frank; also, generous; liberal; bounteous; -- applied to personal appearance, or character, and to the expression of thought and feeling, etc.
    
    

    With aspect open, shall erect his head. Pope.

    The Moor is of a free and open nature. Shak.

    The French are always open, familiar, and talkative. Addison.

    (b)

15. To enter upon; to begin; as, to open a discussion; to open fire upon an enemy; to open trade, or correspondence; to open a case in court, or a meeting.
16. Not of a quality to prevent communication, as by closing water ways, blocking roads, etc.; hence, not frosty or inclement; mild; -- used of the weather or the climate; as, an open season; an open winter.
    
    
    Bacon.
17. To loosen or make less compact; as, to open matted cotton by separating the fibers.
    
    

    To open one's mouth, to speak. -- To open up, to lay open; to discover; to disclose.

    Poetry that had opened up so many delightful views into the character and condition of our "bold peasantry, their country's pride." Prof. Wilson.

18. Not settled or adjusted; not decided or determined; not closed or withdrawn from consideration; as, an open account; an open question; to keep an offer or opportunity open.
19. Free; disengaged; unappropriated; as, to keep a day open for any purpose; to be open for an engagement.
20. Uttered with a relatively wide opening of the articulating organs; -- said of vowels; as, the än fär is open as compared with the in sy.
    
    
    (b)
21. Not closed or stopped with the finger; -- said of the string of an instrument, as of a violin, when it is allowed to vibrate throughout its whole length.
    
    
    (b)