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REFERENCE

closure

n. · v.
US //ˈkɫoʊʒɝ// UK //klˈəʊʒɐ// clo·sure
  1. 1 shutting down (n.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate

    the act of closing a place or service, like a road, school, or factory, either for a short time or forever.

    the permanent or temporary cessation of an operation or the physical blocking of a thoroughfare.

    Example

    The sudden closure of the local post office made life difficult for the elderly residents.

    Example

    The city council announced the temporary closure of the main bridge to facilitate urgent structural repairs following the flood damage.
  2. 2 emotional resolution (n.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate

    the feeling that a difficult period in your life has finally ended and you can move on.

    a psychological sense of finality or resolution following a period of grief, trauma, or unresolved conflict.

    Example

    She hoped that talking to her ex-husband one last time would give her some closure.

    Example

    Psychologists argue that victims of unsolved crimes often struggle to find closure because the lack of a clear ending prevents the grieving process from concluding.
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  1. 3 a cap or lid (n.)
    C1 Advanced Technical

    a thing that closes a container, such as a cap on a bottle or a lid on a jar.

    a device or mechanism designed to seal a container or package.

    Example

    The wine bottle has a screw-top closure instead of a traditional cork.

    Example

    The pharmaceutical company developed a child-resistant closure to ensure the safety of the medication packaging.
  2. 4 programming (n.)
    C2 Proficiency Technical Computing

    a function that remembers the environment where it was created.

    a record storing a function together with an environment: a mapping associating each free variable of the function with the value or storage location to which the name was bound when the closure was created.

    Example

    Using a closure allows the function to access variables from the outer scope even after that scope has closed.

    Example

    The developer utilised a closure to maintain the state of the counter without polluting the global namespace.

  3. 5 ending a debate (n.)
    C1 Advanced Formal Law

    a rule used in a government meeting to end a long discussion and start voting.

    a procedure for ending a debate and taking an immediate vote on a measure, often used to overcome a filibuster.

    Example

    The chairman called for closure to stop the argument and finally vote on the new law.

    Example

    The government invoked closure to terminate the protracted debate on the controversial tax reform bill.
    • cloture
  4. 6 mathematical set (n.)
    C2 Proficiency Technical Math

    the smallest set that contains a certain group of numbers and follows a specific rule.

    the smallest set that contains a given set and is closed under a particular operation or possesses a specific property.

    Example

    The closure of the set of integers under addition is the set of integers itself.

    Example

    In topology, the closure of a subset consists of all points in the subset along with its limit points.

  5. 7 to force a vote (v.)
    C2 Proficiency Formal Technical Law

    to officially end a debate in a parliament so that a vote can happen.

    to apply the procedure of closure to a legislative debate. Transitive use.

    Example

    The speaker decided to closure the debate after three days of talking.

    Example

    The motion to closure the proceedings was narrowly defeated, allowing the opposition to continue their questioning for another session.

Origin

From Middle English closure, from Old French closure, from Late Latin clausura, from Latin claudere (“to close”); see clausure and cloture (etymological doublets) and close.

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