open-end

adjective

ˈō-pən-ˈend 

: organized to allow for contingencies: such as

a

: permitting additional debt to be incurred under the original indenture subject to specified conditions

an open-end mortgage

b

: having a fluctuating capitalization of shares that are issued or redeemed at the current net asset value or at a figure in fixed ratio to this

an open-end investment company

compare closed-end

Examples of open-end in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The alternative—selling out Ukraine—would be rejected by Kyiv, resulting in a one-sided but open-ended war between it and Russia. —Richard Haass, Foreign Affairs, 4 Nov. 2024

One way Main Street can gain access is through a type of closed-end fund which is less liquid than open-end mutual funds and may have minimum investments. —Michelle Fox, CNBC, 16 Oct. 2024

Before the truth about what happened is uncovered at the very end, other fragments reveal, in as open-ended a way as possible, how life always goes on for those who’ve managed to survive. —Jordan Mintzer, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Aug. 2024

There is ample evidence that, at least in Latin America, extensive and open-ended economic sanctions have failed to produce democratic reforms and free elections. —Michael Shifter, Foreign Affairs, 3 June 2022

Under state law, plaintiffs can seek damages for broad and open-ended claims like a failure to warn of a danger, false advertising or creating a public nuisance. —David G. Savage, Los Angeles Times, 4 June 2024

But the sound advice offered by Karlin and Wittes—to end extravagant and open-ended commitments to allies in the Middle East in order to reduce reckless behavior and U.S. exposure to its consequences—will never be followed if U.S. profligacy toward Israel is treated as unmentionable. —Robert Satloff, Foreign Affairs, 16 Apr. 2019

The conditions, former prisoners recounted, are often so ghastly and the prison terms so open-ended that desperate inmates frequently attempt to escape, but those who try are often gunned down. —Katharine Houreld, Washington Post, 6 Jan. 2024

The sea rescue center offers multiple ways to play, and is open-ended enough that a child could add in elements from other Lego Friends sets to expand it. —Sarah Bradley, Parents, 16 Nov. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1917, in the meaning defined above

Legal Definition

open-end

adjective

: organized to allow for contingencies: as

a

: permitting additional debt to be incurred under the original debt instrument subject to specified conditions see also open-end mortgage at mortgage

b

: having fluctuating capitalization of shares that are issued or redeemed at the current net asset value or at a figure in fixed ratio to this

an open-end investment company

compare closed-end

c

: calling for the filling by a particular contractor of all government needs for a specific product during a specified period

an open-end contract