Open (noun)
Open or unobstructed space; an exposed location.
I can’t believe you left the lawnmower out in the open when you knew it was going to rain this afternoon!
Public knowledge or scrutiny; full view.
We have got to bring this company’s corrupt business practices into the open.
Open (verb)
To make something accessible or removing an obstacle to something being accessible.
Open (adjective)
Which is not closed; accessible; unimpeded; as, an open gate.
Turn left after the second open door.
Receptive.
I am open to new ideas.
Public; as, an open letter, an open declaration.
He published an open letter to the governor on a full page of the New York Times.
(an edited list of open definitions from Wiktionary list)
But the word “open” can be something more; something broader than these definitions. As Gardner Campbell pointed out in his excellent OpedEd keynote (updated with link to archive), open is an attitude. “
Title and concept adapted from CC-BY-2.0 Clint Lalonde