Noun

(en noun)

An act or instance of making or becoming open.

The daily openings of the day lily bloom gives it its name.

He remembered fondly the Christmas morning opening of presents.

Something that is open.

A salamander darted out of an opening in the rocks.

He slipped through an opening in the crowd.

An act or instance of beginning.

There have been few factory and store openings in the US lately.

Their opening of the concert with ''Brass in Pocket'' always fires up the crowd.

Something that is a beginning.

# The first performance of a show or play by a particular troupe.

They were disappointed at the turnout for their opening , but hoped that word would spread.

# The initial period a show at an art gallery or museum is first opened, especially the first evening.

# The first few measures of a musical composition.

# (chess) The first few moves in a game of chess.

John spends two hours a day studying openings , and another two hours studying endgames.

A vacant position, especially in an array.

Are there likely to be any openings on the Supreme Court in the next four years?

# A time available in a schedule.

If you'd like to make a booking with us, we have an opening at twelve o'clock.

The only two-hour openings for the hockey rink are between 1AM and 5AM.

# An unoccupied employment position.

We have an opening in our marketing department.

An opportunity, as in a competitive activity.

* {{quote-news

, year=2010 , date=December 29 , author=Sam Sheringham , title=Liverpool 0 - 1 Wolverhampton , work=BBC citation , page= , passage=The Reds carved the first opening of the second period as Glen Johnson's pull-back found David Ngog but the Frenchman hooked wide from six yards. }}

Noun

(en noun)

A grandiose and often lavish entrance.

* Milton

Thick with sparkling orient gems / The portal shone.

An entrance, entry point, or means of entry.

The local library, a portal of knowledge.

(Internet) A website that acts as an entrance to other websites on the Internet.

The new medical portal has dozens of topical categories containing links to hundreds of sites.

(anatomy) A short vein that carries blood into the liver.

(fiction) A magical or technological leading to another location, period in time or dimension.

(architecture) A lesser gate, where there are two of different dimensions.

(architecture) Formerly, a small square corner in a room separated from the rest of an apartment by wainscoting, forming a short passage to another apartment.

(bridge-building) The space, at one end, between opposite trusses when these are terminated by inclined braces.

A prayer book or breviary; a portass.