chapter closed

Syllable breakdown

Dictionary meaning

an idiom meaning that a phase, period, or aspect of one's life has definitively ended and will not be reopened, using the metaphor of a book's chapter division to suggest that life can be understood as a narrative with discrete sections that have their own internal coherence and that come to genuine conclusions; when a chapter is closed the events within it remain part of the story — they are not erased or denied — but they are no longer active, no longer subject to revision, and no longer the locus of one's present attention; the phrase is used to mark the end of relationships, careers, periods of conflict, and stages of personal development, often with a combination of relief, grief, and acceptance that acknowledges the significance of what has ended while making space for what comes next; its power lies in the implication that the story continues even as this particular chapter ends