closing time

Thân thiện

The shopkeeper turns the sign to "closed" at closing time.

Definition

Noun The scheduled, regular time each day when a business, establishment, or public venue stops being open to customers or the public and locks its doors.

Usage

This noun is used to specify the final moment when a place of business, such as a shop, bar, library, or park, ends its operating hours for the day. It is a fixed point in time, not a duration.

Examples

• The closing time for the museum is 6 PM.
• "Last call for drinks; it's almost closing time," the bartender announced.
• We arrived at the store just before closing time.
• The posted closing time is 10 PM, but they often let the last customers stay a bit longer.

Advanced Usage

• "Past closing time": Used to describe a time after the official closing hour.
  • The staff was cleaning up long past closing time.
• The concept can be applied metaphorically to signify an endpoint or deadline for an activity or opportunity.
  • With the final project submissions in, it was closing time for new ideas.

Variants and Related Words

• Close (verb): To cease operation for the day. (e.g., )
• Opening time (noun): The regular time when an establishment opens to the public.
• Business hours / Operating hours (noun phrase): The entire period during which a business is open, from opening time to closing time.
• Last orders / Last call (noun phrase): In a bar or pub, the final opportunity to purchase drinks, typically announced shortly before closing time.

Synonyms

• Shutdown time
• Lock-up time

Antonyms

• Opening time

Related Idioms and Phrases

• "Time, gentlemen, please!": A traditional British announcement in pubs signaling that closing time is imminent and drinks should be finished. It is strongly associated with the concept of closing time.
• "We're closing" / "We're closed": Common phrases used by staff to inform customers that closing time has arrived or passed.

Học thuật

Noun

1. the regular time of day when an establishment closes to the public