Reopen
/ˌriːˈoʊpən/
Definitions
2 meaningsTo open something again after it has been closed, or to start something again after it has been stopped.
/ˌriːˈoʊpən/
To open again after being closed.
The bakery plans to reopen after a month of renovations.
💡 Simply: Imagine your favorite ice cream shop closes for the winter, but then it opens again in the spring! That's reopening. You're doing the opening part again.
👶 For kids: To open something again after it was closed.
More Examples
The park will reopen to the public after the storm.
The case was reopened due to new evidence.
How It's Used
"The store will reopen next week after renovations."
"The government decided to reopen the investigation."
To initiate a discussion, negotiation or debate that was closed.
/ˌriːˈoʊpən/
To make a discussion, negotiation, or debate open again.
The committee decided to reopen negotiations on the trade agreement.
💡 Simply: Think of a discussion that was put on hold, maybe about a school project. If you decide to talk about it again later, you're reopening the conversation.
👶 For kids: To start talking about something again after you stopped talking about it before.
More Examples
The judge was asked to reopen the proceedings.
The company decided to reopen the bidding process.
How It's Used
"The parliament will reopen discussions on the bill next week."
"The court decided to reopen the case based on new witness testimony."
From 're-' (again) + 'open'. The prefix 're-' denotes repetition or renewal of an action. 'Open' comes from Old English *openian, meaning to unclose or make accessible.
The word 'reopen' has been in use since the late 19th century, initially referring to the act of opening something that had been temporarily closed.
Memory tip
Think of re-doing something and opening is just like that!