closure: Meaning and Definition of

clo•sure

Pronunciation: (klō'zhur), [key]
— n., v., -sured, -sur•ing.
—n.
  1. the act of closing; the state of being closed.
  2. a bringing to an end; conclusion.
  3. something that closes or shuts.
  4. closer (def. 2).
  5. an architectural screen or parapet, esp. one standing free between columns or piers.
  6. an occlusion of the vocal tract as an articulatory feature of a particular speech sound. Cf. constriction (def. 5).
  7. a cloture.
  8. completion of a closed traverse in such a way that the point of origin and the endpoint coincide within an acceptably small margin of error. Cf. error of closure.
    1. the property of being closed with respect to a particular operation.
    2. the intersection of all closed sets that contain a given set.
  9. a need for closure.
    1. the tendency to see an entire figure even though the picture of it is incomplete, based primarily on the viewer's past experience.
    2. a sense of psychological certainty or completeness:a need for closure.
  10. something that encloses or shuts in; enclosure.
—v.t., v.i.
  1. to cloture.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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