the act or process of shutting something such as a road, shop, or building so that people cannot use it
The sudden closure of the bridge forced drivers to find another route.
After twenty years, the small bookstore announced its permanent closure.
✦ late Middle English, from Old French, based on Latin clausura ‘barrier, lock’, from claudere ‘to shut’.
the feeling that an upsetting experience has ended and you can move on emotionally
Writing the letter gave her a sense of closure after the argument.
The memorial service helped the family gain closure.
in computer programming, a function together with the variables of its surrounding scope that it can still use after that scope has finished executing
In JavaScript, every time you create a function inside another function, you create a closure.
The tutor explained how a closure can preserve local state between calls.
in parliamentary procedure, a formal vote to end debate and move to a decision
The Speaker approved a closure to bring the heated discussion to an end.
Opposition members protested when closure was imposed on the bill.
the act of making secret or new information known to others
The lawyer demanded the complete disclosure of all financial records before the trial.
Publicly traded companies must ensure transparent disclosure of their earnings each quarter.
✦ From the verb disclose (Middle English, from Old French desclos, past participle of desclore “to open, unlock”) + -ure.
a piece of new or secret information that is made public
The actress’s shocking disclosure about her childhood dominated the headlines.
Yesterday’s newspaper printed a startling disclosure about government surveillance programs.
✦ Same origin as the first sense: formed by adding the noun suffix -ure to disclose.
