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.

Noun

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