opened

Opened is the past tense and past participle of the verb open. It indicates that something that was closed or sealed has been moved to an accessible state, or that an action related to beginning operation has occurred. In everyday language, opened is used with objects that can be physically opened, such as doors, boxes, or files, as in “The door was opened by the staff” or “She opened the document.” While opened appears in past contexts, the adjective form more often used to describe a state is open, as in “the open window.”

Etymology and form: opened derives from the verb open, which comes from Old English openian (to open) and is related to the Old French ouvrir via Latin aperire. The standard English past tense and past participle are formed with the regular -ed ending, yielding opened. The word has long been used in both literal and figurative senses to indicate causation of access or commencement.

Usage notes: opened is common in transitive constructions (someone opened something) and in passive voice (something was opened). It also appears in fixed expressions like opened for business or opened with a ceremony, where it signals the start of an activity or service. In modern computing, files and programs can be opened, and “opened” often appears in logs or messages describing user actions. The related idiom open up conveys broader meanings such as revealing information or becoming more communicative.

See also: open, opening ceremony, opening (as a noun), have opened.