opener
opener — noun
1. A small tool you use to remove the lid or top from a container, such as a bottle
A small tool you use to remove the lid or top from a container, such as a bottle or can.
Daniel used a bottle opener to flip the metal cap off his soda.
compound noun: bottle opener
Mrs. Chen keeps a tin opener in the kitchen drawer beside the cutlery tray.
The old rusty opener bent when Lotte tried to lift the lid on the paint tin.
Apinya bought an electric jar opener because her hands were getting weak.
用法筆記
Often appears in compound nouns naming the type of container: bottle opener, can opener, tin opener, jar opener.
常見錯誤
2. The first game, match, event, or item in a planned series.
The first game, match, event, or item in a planned series.
Walid bought tickets for the season opener at the new stadium downtown.
collocation: season opener
The tournament opener between Spain and Brazil drew a huge television audience.
Ritu scored twice in the opener, giving her team a comfortable early lead.
Mira's restaurant had a quiet opener, but business picked up by the following weekend.
The film festival opener was a documentary about deep-sea divers in Japan.
用法筆記
Commonly modified by a noun that names the type of series: season opener, tournament opener, festival opener. Distinguish from sense 4: this sense refers to a concrete first event, not a conversational phrase.
3. A performer who plays on stage before the main act at a concert or music event.
A performer who plays on stage before the main act at a concert or music event.
Andrew's band was the opener for the headline act at the sold-out summer festival.
The opener, a young singer called Ryo, got the crowd cheering before the main show.
structure: the opener + appositive naming the performer
Elena felt nervous being the opener for such a famous comedian on her first tour.
The festival had three openers before the main band finally walked onto the stage.
- support act
more formal; commonly used on concert posters and tickets
- warm-up act
emphasises the function of getting the audience ready for the main act
- headliner
the main act that performs last at a concert
用法筆記
Always used in the context of live performances. The opener plays before the main or headline act. Not used for the first speaker at a conference — use 'opening speaker' instead.
4. Used in the phrase 'for openers' to mean as a starting point, or to introduce th
Used in the phrase 'for openers' to mean as a starting point, or to introduce the first of several points.
For openers, Liang explained why the old payment system was no longer working.
phrase: for openers — fixed plural form at sentence start
The new manager said, for openers, that nobody would lose their job this year.
Mira listed three complaints for openers, then spent an hour on the first one.
For openers, the rent is too high — and the flat has no heating either.
- to begin with
more neutral and can be used in formal writing
- first off
even more informal than 'for openers'; mainly American English
文法句型
for openers
用法筆記
Always the fixed plural form 'for openers' — never 'for an opener' or 'for the opener' in this meaning. Typically appears at the start of a sentence or clause. Common in spoken English and informal writing.
常見錯誤
5. In cricket, a batter who goes in first at the start of the team's innings.
In cricket, a batter who goes in first at the start of the team's innings.
Reuben was his team's opener and calmly faced six balls in the first over.
The opener, Walid, scored fifty runs before the lunch break on day one.
appositive: the opener, [name]
Baraka, a left-handed opener, hit three boundaries in the opening over.
The umpire gave the opener out, but the replay showed the ball missed the bat.
- opening batter
a longer, more formal term used in cricket commentary and reports
用法筆記
Specific to cricket. Each team has two openers who face the first balls of the innings. Not used for the first batter in baseball — see sense 6 for the baseball meaning.
6. A pitcher in baseball whose role is to start the game, throwing the early inning
A pitcher in baseball whose role is to start the game, throwing the early innings and then giving way to a relief pitcher.
Ryo was the opener for the Hawks and pitched two scoreless innings to start.
The manager used an opener strategy, bringing in the main pitcher in the fourth.
collocation: opener strategy
Lotte, an opener who throws hard, struck out four batters in three innings.
The team's opener gave up a home run on the very first pitch of the game.
- starting pitcher
the traditional term for the pitcher who begins a game; an 'opener' is a specific short-duration variant of this role
- closer
a relief pitcher who pitches the final inning to finish a close game
用法筆記
Specific to baseball. An 'opener' is a modern strategy where a relief pitcher starts the game and is replaced early, rather than using a traditional starting pitcher who aims to pitch deep into the game. Distinguish from sense 5 (cricket opener — a batter, not a pitcher).