leave open

leave (someone, something, or oneself) (wide) open to (something)

To make someone, something, or oneself vulnerable to something; to expose someone, something, or oneself to something undesirable or potentially harmful. These terms of service leave us wide open to lawsuits under the new EU regulation, so we'll need to update them right away. The judge agreed that the defendant's use of social media during the trial left him open to additional scrutiny by the prosecution. I know I left myself wide open to scorn when I made my decision, but I stand by what I did.
See also: leave, open, to

leave open

1. To intentionally keep a timeframe free or unscheduled. A noun or pronoun can be used between "leave" and "open." I'm leaving Friday night open in case Paulina wants to get dinner. I left open your birthday in case you wanted to do something special that day.
2. To cause one or oneself to be vulnerable or exposed. A noun or pronoun can be used between "leave" and "open." Sir, that position will leave us open to attack from the north. Don't tell Mom too much about your new boyfriend, unless you want to leave yourself open to a lot of personal questions.
3. To be inclined to hear or ponder something. A reflexive pronoun is used between "leave" and "open." These people are just trying to help you, so please leave yourself open to what they have to say.
See also: leave, open
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

leave something open

to leave a date or time unscheduled. I left something open on Friday, just in case we want to leave work early. Please leave an appointment open for Mrs. Wallace next week. She will be calling in to our office for an appointment.
See also: leave, open
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

leave open

1. Keep undecided or unscheduled, as in We don't know how much fabric will be needed; let's leave that open, or The doctor leaves Fridays open for consultation. This expression uses open in the sense of "undetermined," a usage dating from the mid-1500s.
2. leave oneself open. Remain vulnerable to; also, remain willing to consider. For example, Her actions left her open to widespread criticism, or I left myself open to further suggestions about how to proceed. Also see under lay open.
See also: leave, open
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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References in periodicals archive ?
Whether or not the list of Type A words ending ins can be expanded is a question I leave open for readers of this journal.
Internal palindromes and regular inflection
[9] To experience the story reverently, from its own perspective ("according to the directions on the label" as Prabhupada might say) is to leave open the possibility for experiencing the grace, epiphany, and self-transcendence of encountering a truth that is wholly other--perhaps even the sacred itself.
Teaching mindfully: learning and teaching through story-telling
The research on people, he concedes, has its own limitations that leave open the question of whether ibuprofen lessens the amyloid burden in the brain.
Ibuprofen cuts Alzheimer protein build-up
By including within the facts of the example that a shareholder had no business relationship with a corporation (other than a corporate/shareholder relationship), the example appeared to leave open the possibility that, if the redeemed shareholder also had been an employee of the corporation and the covenant not to compete was entered into because of the shareholder-employee's former employment relationship, perhaps Sec.
Noncompete agreement entered into contemporaneously with stock redemption
"It would leave open that the SSRA could dictate (provision of) aid."
Failure to sanction Talisman criticized
Not only did Marguerite set up the possibility for the devisants to convert their hidden audience of monks with their stories showing friars and others in a negative light -- with Melancon suggesting that Marguerite "les engageait dans les chemins de l'evangelisme" (50) -- but so did she leave open the possibility for the individual members of this new evangelical Christian community to establish the same new order in the "real" world once they left the abbey.
Heroic Virtue, Comic Infidelity: Reassessing Marguerite de Navarre's Heptameron
Does this leave open the possibility that a trust can borrow funds from a bank to pay the annuity?
Prop. regs. affecting GRATs and GRUTs
The findings leave open the possibility that later onset ovarian cancer may have a different cause.
Ovulation cycles linked to ovarian cancer
1.925(a)-1T(c)(8), however, does leave open a brief window for FSC redeterminations on amended returns for open tax years.
New FSC grouping regulations: a disappearing opportunity
Such findings leave open the possibility that these bats sire and suckle their own offspring, Francis says.
Real males that lactate: a batty story
White of the University of California at Los Angeles School of Dentistry, the dose-related findings leave open the posibility that even low doses could carry some risk over longer periods of time.
Dental X-ray, cancer link assessed
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