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closure

Closure is the end of something. After your all-night flashing spree on the steps of the Supreme Court, expect the closure of your political career.

Closure comes from the Latin claus ("shut"), and has many different shades of meaning. A road closure blocks that road from traffic. If you find closure after an emotional hardship, you're ready to move on. An obstruction in a small passage, like a pipe, is also a closure, as is the button on your sweater. In debate, closure (usually cloture), stops debate and starts the vote.

PRIMARY MEANINGS OF: closure

1
 n
termination of operations
2
 n
the act of blocking
3
 n
approaching a particular destination; a coming closer; a narrowing of a gap
4
 nv
a rule for limiting or ending debate in a deliberative body
terminate debate by calling for a vote
5
 n
a Gestalt principle of organization holding that there is an innate tendency to perceive incomplete objects as complete and to close or fill gaps and to perceive asymmetric stimuli as symmetric
FULL DEFINITIONS OF: closure
1

n termination of operations

“they regretted the closure of the day care center”
Synonyms:
closedown, closing, shutdown
Types:
plant closing
act of shutting down operation of a plant
bank closing
act of closing down a bank because of a fiscal emergency or failure
layoff
the act of laying off an employee or a work force
Type of:
conclusion, ending, termination
the act of ending something

n something settled or resolved; the outcome of decision making

“he needed to grieve before he could achieve a sense of closure”
Synonyms:
resolution, settlement
Type of:
deciding, decision making
the cognitive process of reaching a decision
2

n the act of blocking

Synonyms:
blockage, occlusion
Types:
implosion
the initial occluded phase of a stop consonant
Type of:
obstruction
the act of obstructing

n an obstruction in a pipe or tube

Synonyms:
block, blockage, occlusion, stop, stoppage
Types:
show 11 types...
hide 11 types...
breech closer, breechblock
a metal block in breech-loading firearms that is withdrawn to insert a cartridge and replaced to close the breech before firing
plug, stopper, stopple
blockage consisting of an object designed to fill a hole tightly
vapor lock, vapour lock
a stoppage in a pipeline caused by gas bubbles (especially a stoppage that develops in hot weather in an internal-combustion engine when fuel in the gas line boils and forms bubbles that block the flow of gasoline to the carburetor)
bung, spile
a plug used to close a hole in a barrel or flask
bottle cork, cork
the plug in the mouth of a bottle (especially a wine bottle)
drainplug
a removable plug for holding water in a tub or basin
earplug
a plug of cotton, wax, or rubber that is fitted into the ear canal for protection against the entry of water or loud noise
fipple
a wooden plug forming a flue pipe (as the mouthpiece of a recorder)
tampion, tompion
plug for the muzzle of a gun to keep out dust and moisture
tampon
plug of cotton or other absorbent material; inserted into wound or body cavity to absorb exuded fluids (especially blood)
spigot, tap
a plug for a bunghole in a cask
Type of:
impediment, impedimenta, obstructer, obstruction, obstructor
any structure that makes progress difficult
3

n approaching a particular destination; a coming closer; a narrowing of a gap

Synonyms:
closing
Type of:
approach, approaching, coming
the act of drawing spatially closer to something
4

n a rule for limiting or ending debate in a deliberative body

Synonyms:
cloture, gag law, gag rule
Types:
closure by compartment, guillotine
closure imposed on the debate of specific sections of a bill
Type of:
order, parliamentary law, parliamentary procedure, rules of order
a body of rules followed by an assembly

v terminate debate by calling for a vote

“debate was closured”
Synonyms:
cloture
Type of:
end, terminate
bring to an end or halt
5

n a Gestalt principle of organization holding that there is an innate tendency to perceive incomplete objects as complete and to close or fill gaps and to perceive asymmetric stimuli as symmetric

Synonyms:
law of closure
Type of:
Gestalt law of organization, Gestalt principle of organization
a principle of Gestalt psychology that identifies factors leading to particular forms of perceptual organization
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