close up
1. verb Literally, to shut something that is open. Be sure to close up the oven after you take out the cookies. When you're done, please close up your toolbox and put it somewhere the kids won't find it. Hmm, I'm trying to close up the garage, but the remote isn't working.
2. verb To sew an opening shut at the end of a surgical procedure. In this usage, a noun or pronoun is used between "close" and "up." The procedure is finished. Now we need to close him up. Once we close the patient up, he can be taken in recovery. The patient's heath deteriorated so quickly. We were just about to close her up when her blood pressure dropped precipitously.
3. verb To heal, as of a cut or wound. The cut isn't too deep, so it should close up on its own, no stitches needed. Hey! That scrape on your knee won't close up if you keep picking at the scab! Why does it always take forever for paper cuts to close up? Ugh, they're so tiny and annoying.
4. verb To become completely closed or sealed shut. After I got hit in the face with a baseball, my eye swelled so much that it actually closed up. A: "I bet the old owners closed up this door because it led to a secret passageway!" B: "OK, you've been reading too many mystery novels." When you have pink eye, your eyes crust over and close up. It's pretty gross.
5. verb To cease business operations for any length of time (often permanently). I loved that restaurant, so I'm very disappointed that it closed up permanently. That shop always closes up for two weeks in the summer to accommodate the owner's vacation. We can't go to that ice cream place because it closed up last summer.
6. verb To close something, typically a place, securely. I hope you closed up the store before you left for the night. Don't worry, I closed up the office and set the alarm and all that. Well, you clearly didn't close up the shop last night if someone was able to break in!
7. noun A shot in which the camera is positioned very close to the subject. In this usage, the phrase is typically hyphenated. I want the next scene to start with a close-up of Caroline standing in the doorway. Her close-ups of flowers are just gorgeous—she's a very underrated photographer. I took a close-up of the insignia carved into my school ring so that I could really see all the details.
8. noun A detailed or intimate portrayal or exploration of something. In this usage, the phrase is typically hyphenated. This novel is a close-up of Depression-era America. I'm always reading biographies and autobiographies. Close-ups of famous—and infamous—people just fascinate me. Why do you want to read a close-up of the Irish Potato Famine? That just sounds wildly depressing.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
close someone up
to close a surgical wound at the end of a surgical procedure. Fred, would you close her up for me? Fred closed up the patient.
close something up
1. to close someone's business, office, shop, etc., temporarily or permanently. Tom's restaurant nearly went out of business when the health department closed him up. The health department closed up the restaurant.
2. to close something that is open, such as a door or a box. Please close the door when you leave.
close up
1. Lit. [for an opening] to close completely. The door closed up and would not open again. The wound will close up completely in a day or so.
2. Fig. [for a place of business] to close for business. The store closed up and did not open until the next day.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
close up
Also, close up shop. Stop doing business, temporarily or permanently; also, stop working. For example, The bank is closing up all its overseas branches, or That's enough work for one day-I'm closing up shop and going home. [Late 1500s]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.