Opening
 

opening
adjective1.first or beginning; "the memorable opening bars of Beethoven's Fifth"; "the play's opening scene"[ant: closing]
noun1.an open or empty space in or between things; "there was a small opening between the trees"; "the explosion made a gap in the wall"2.a ceremony accompanying the start of some enterprise3.becoming open or being made open; "the opening of his arms was the sign I was waiting for"4.the first performance (as of a theatrical production); "the opening received good critical reviews"5.the act of opening something; "the ray of light revealed his cautious opening of the door"[ant: closing]6.opportunity especially for employment or promotion; "there is an opening in the sales department"7.the initial part of the introduction; "the opening established the basic theme"8.a possible alternative; "bankruptcy is always a possibility"[syn: possibility]9.an aperture or hole that opens into a bodily cavity; "the orifice into the aorta from the lower left chamber of the heart"[syn: orifice]10.a vacant or unobstructed space that is man-made; "they left a small opening for the cat at the bottom of the door"11.an entrance equipped with a hatch; especially a passageway between decks of a ship[syn: hatchway]12.a recognized sequence of moves at the beginning of a game of chess; "he memorized all the important chess openings"13.the first of a series of actions[syn: first step]