Meaning & use
close the chapter
Last updated
Meaning
phraseidiomfigurative
To end a period or part of your life and stop thinking about it.
Grammar: Often followed by 'on': close the chapter on something.
Patterns
- close the chapter on something
- close a chapter in something
After the trial, she wanted to close the chapter on that painful time.
Selling the old house closed a chapter in our family's history.
He finally closed the chapter on his years as a professional athlete.
Common combinations
- close the chapter on the past
- They agreed to close the chapter on the past and move on.
- close a chapter in your life
- Graduation closed a happy chapter in her life.
- finally close the chapter
- It took years to finally close the chapter.
- close the chapter on something painful
- Writing the book helped him close the chapter on something painful.
Synonyms and how they differ
- move on
- 'Move on' focuses on starting something new rather than finishing the old thing.
- draw a line under
- This British phrase is very close in meaning but sounds more businesslike.
- put something behind you
- This stresses forgetting the past rather than formally ending it.
Opposites
Word family
- chapter noun
- A main division of a book or a period in history.
Commonly confused: close the chapter or close the book on?
close the chapter vs close the book on
'Close the book on something' means to stop dealing with it because it is finished; 'close the chapter' is more personal and emotional.
Practice
She decided to close the chapter ______ her career in banking.
Choose one answer.
The fixed pattern is 'close the chapter on something'; the other prepositions do not fit this idiom.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “close the chapter”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.