open its doors

English

Verb

open its doors (third-person singular simple present opens its doors, present participle opening its doors, simple past and past participle opened its doors)

1. (of a business or organization) To begin operating.
   • 1989 April 15, Judy Harris, “Lesbian and Gay Health Closes”, in Gay Community News, page 3:

     Gay and Lesbian Health (GLH), which opened its doors in August as an outpatient mental health and substance abuse counseling agency specializing in substance abuse among lesbians and gay men, announced April 4 that the facility had closed, effective March 31.

2. (of a country or a territory) To allow or invite outside influence, investment or immigration.

   China opened its doors in the 1970s.

Antonyms

• close its doors

Translations

(of a business) to begin operating

• Finnish: aloittaa toimintansa, avata ovensa
• French: ouvrir ses portes (fr)
• Hungarian: megnyitja kapuit, megnyit (hu)
• Polish: zostawać otwarty impf, zostać otwarty pf

See also

• open the door
• one's door is open

Further reading

• “open its doors”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• “open its the doors” (US) / “open its the doors” (UK) in Macmillan English Dictionary.