ɪˈnɪʃətɪv ˈoʊ.pə.nɪŋ ˈəʊ.pə.nɪŋ ˈoʊ.pə.nɪŋ ˈəʊ.pə.nɪŋ ˈɒɹɪfɪs ˈɔɹəfɪs ˌpɑsɪˈbɪliti ˌpɒsɪˈbɪliti the first of a series of actions the act of opening something the ray of light revealed his cautious opening of the door becoming open or being made open the opening of his arms was the sign I was waiting for a recognized sequence of moves at the beginning of a game of chess he memorized all the important chess openings first or beginning the memorable opening bars of Beethoven's Fifth the play's opening scene an entrance equipped with a hatch; especially a passageway between decks of a ship a vacant or unobstructed space that is man-made they left a small opening for the cat at the bottom of the door an aperture or hole that opens into a bodily cavity the orifice into the aorta from the lower left chamber of the heart a possible alternative bankruptcy is always a possibility the initial part of the introduction the opening established the basic theme the first performance (as of a theatrical production) the opening received good critical reviews a ceremony accompanying the start of some enterprise 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 opportunity especially for employment or promotion there is an opening in the sales department