"behind closed doors" meaning in English

See behind closed doors in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Prepositional phrase

Audio: en-au-behind closed doors.ogg [Australia]
Head templates: {{head|en|prepositional phrase|head=}} behind closed doors, {{en-prep phrase}} behind closed doors
  1. (idiomatic) In private; in one's private life; lacking (normal) public disclosure, in camera. Tags: idiomatic Synonyms: closed door, with closed doors Translations (in private): خلف الأبواب المغلقة (ḵalfa l-ʔabwābi l-muḡliqah) (Arabic), s vyloučením veřejnosti (Czech), achter gesloten deuren (Dutch), binnenskamers (Dutch), suljettujen ovien takana (Finnish), suljetuin ovin (Finnish), à huis clos (French), en privé (French), hinter verschlossenen Türen (German), κεκλεισμένων των θυρών (kekleisménon ton thyrón) (Greek), בִּדְלָתַיִם סְגוּרוֹת (bidlatáim sgurót) (Hebrew), zárt ajtók mögött (Hungarian), a négy fal között (Hungarian), á bak við luktar dyr (Icelandic), a porte chiuse (Italian), už uždarų durų (Lithuanian), za zamkniętymi drzwiami (Polish), à porta fechada (Portuguese), a portas fechadas (Portuguese), entre quatro paredes (Portuguese), за закры́тыми дверя́ми (za zakrýtymi dverjámi) (Russian), iza zatvorenih vrata (Serbo-Croatian), a puerta cerrada (Spanish), bakom lyckta dörrar (Swedish), за закри́тими двери́ма (za zakrýtymy dverýma) (Ukrainian), за зачи́неними двери́ма (za začýnenymy dverýma) (Ukrainian)
    Sense id: en-behind_closed_doors-en-prep_phrase-7T~-V9ja Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 57 27 16 Disambiguation of 'in private': 84 7 8
  2. (idiomatic, sports) Without public spectators. Tags: idiomatic Categories (topical): Sports
    Sense id: en-behind_closed_doors-en-prep_phrase-8WN80IIf Topics: hobbies, lifestyle, sports
  3. (idiomatic) stored in a hidden place. Tags: idiomatic
    Sense id: en-behind_closed_doors-en-prep_phrase-2qH-cqMo

Alternative forms

Download JSON data for behind closed doors meaning in English (6.3kB)

{
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "prepositional phrase",
        "head": ""
      },
      "expansion": "behind closed doors",
      "name": "head"
    },
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "behind closed doors",
      "name": "en-prep phrase"
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  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "prep_phrase",
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          "kind": "other",
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          "text": "What you do with your girlfriend behind closed doors is none of my business."
        },
        {
          "ref": "2018 January 25, Amelia Gentleman, “Men-only clubs and menace: how the establishment maintains male power”, in the Guardian",
          "text": "A brilliant piece of undercover reporting revealed extraordinary details of how senior City executives behave behind closed doors.",
          "type": "quotation"
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        {
          "ref": "2021 December 29, Nigel Harris, “Comment: Problems galore in 2021...”, in RAIL, number 947, page 3",
          "text": "A major problem has been the making of bad decisions behind closed doors.",
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        "In private; in one's private life; lacking (normal) public disclosure, in camera."
      ],
      "id": "en-behind_closed_doors-en-prep_phrase-7T~-V9ja",
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          "private",
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      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) In private; in one's private life; lacking (normal) public disclosure, in camera."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "closed door"
        },
        {
          "word": "with closed doors"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
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      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "84 7 8",
          "code": "ar",
          "lang": "Arabic",
          "roman": "ḵalfa l-ʔabwābi l-muḡliqah",
          "sense": "in private",
          "word": "خلف الأبواب المغلقة"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 7 8",
          "code": "cs",
          "lang": "Czech",
          "sense": "in private",
          "word": "s vyloučením veřejnosti"
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          "_dis1": "84 7 8",
          "code": "nl",
          "lang": "Dutch",
          "sense": "in private",
          "word": "achter gesloten deuren"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 7 8",
          "code": "nl",
          "lang": "Dutch",
          "sense": "in private",
          "word": "binnenskamers"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 7 8",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "in private",
          "word": "suljettujen ovien takana"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 7 8",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "in private",
          "word": "suljetuin ovin"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 7 8",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "in private",
          "word": "à huis clos"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 7 8",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "in private",
          "word": "en privé"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 7 8",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "in private",
          "word": "hinter verschlossenen Türen"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 7 8",
          "code": "el",
          "lang": "Greek",
          "roman": "kekleisménon ton thyrón",
          "sense": "in private",
          "word": "κεκλεισμένων των θυρών"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 7 8",
          "code": "he",
          "lang": "Hebrew",
          "roman": "bidlatáim sgurót",
          "sense": "in private",
          "word": "בִּדְלָתַיִם סְגוּרוֹת"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 7 8",
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "sense": "in private",
          "word": "zárt ajtók mögött"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 7 8",
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "sense": "in private",
          "word": "a négy fal között"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 7 8",
          "code": "is",
          "lang": "Icelandic",
          "sense": "in private",
          "word": "á bak við luktar dyr"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 7 8",
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "in private",
          "word": "a porte chiuse"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 7 8",
          "code": "lt",
          "lang": "Lithuanian",
          "sense": "in private",
          "word": "už uždarų durų"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 7 8",
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "in private",
          "word": "za zamkniętymi drzwiami"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 7 8",
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "in private",
          "word": "à porta fechada"
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        {
          "_dis1": "84 7 8",
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "in private",
          "word": "a portas fechadas"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 7 8",
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "in private",
          "word": "entre quatro paredes"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 7 8",
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "za zakrýtymi dverjámi",
          "sense": "in private",
          "word": "за закры́тыми дверя́ми"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 7 8",
          "code": "sh",
          "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
          "sense": "in private",
          "word": "iza zatvorenih vrata"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 7 8",
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "in private",
          "word": "a puerta cerrada"
        },
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          "_dis1": "84 7 8",
          "code": "sv",
          "lang": "Swedish",
          "sense": "in private",
          "word": "bakom lyckta dörrar"
        },
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          "_dis1": "84 7 8",
          "code": "uk",
          "lang": "Ukrainian",
          "roman": "za zakrýtymy dverýma",
          "sense": "in private",
          "word": "за закри́тими двери́ма"
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          "_dis1": "84 7 8",
          "code": "uk",
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          "roman": "za začýnenymy dverýma",
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        }
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          "name": "Sports",
          "orig": "en:Sports",
          "parents": [
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            "Human behaviour",
            "Human",
            "All topics",
            "Fundamental"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        }
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      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "Libya's opening home match in the World Cup qualifiers against Cameroon will be played at a neutral venue and behind closed doors, FIFA said on Friday. https://web.archive.org/web/20150611004158/http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/04/20/soccer-world-libya-idINDEE83J07G20120420"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Without public spectators."
      ],
      "id": "en-behind_closed_doors-en-prep_phrase-8WN80IIf",
      "links": [
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          "sports"
        ],
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          "spectators"
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      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic, sports) Without public spectators."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ],
      "topics": [
        "hobbies",
        "lifestyle",
        "sports"
      ]
    },
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      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2015 May 18, Angus Chen, How We Store Food At Home Could Be Linked To How Much We Eat",
          "text": "In other research, scientists have found that people who kept cereal out in the open were often about 20 pounds heavier than people who kept cereal behind closed doors.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "stored in a hidden place."
      ],
      "id": "en-behind_closed_doors-en-prep_phrase-2qH-cqMo",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) stored in a hidden place."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    }
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      "tags": [
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  "word": "behind closed doors"
}
{
  "categories": [
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    "English lemmas",
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    "English prepositional phrases",
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      "expansion": "behind closed doors",
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      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "What you do with your girlfriend behind closed doors is none of my business."
        },
        {
          "ref": "2018 January 25, Amelia Gentleman, “Men-only clubs and menace: how the establishment maintains male power”, in the Guardian",
          "text": "A brilliant piece of undercover reporting revealed extraordinary details of how senior City executives behave behind closed doors.",
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          "ref": "2021 December 29, Nigel Harris, “Comment: Problems galore in 2021...”, in RAIL, number 947, page 3",
          "text": "A major problem has been the making of bad decisions behind closed doors.",
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      "glosses": [
        "In private; in one's private life; lacking (normal) public disclosure, in camera."
      ],
      "links": [
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          "life"
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      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) In private; in one's private life; lacking (normal) public disclosure, in camera."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
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          "word": "closed door"
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        {
          "word": "with closed doors"
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          "text": "Libya's opening home match in the World Cup qualifiers against Cameroon will be played at a neutral venue and behind closed doors, FIFA said on Friday. https://web.archive.org/web/20150611004158/http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/04/20/soccer-world-libya-idINDEE83J07G20120420"
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        "Without public spectators."
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        "(idiomatic, sports) Without public spectators."
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        "lifestyle",
        "sports"
      ]
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          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "stored in a hidden place."
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        "(idiomatic) stored in a hidden place."
      ],
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  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "ar",
      "lang": "Arabic",
      "roman": "ḵalfa l-ʔabwābi l-muḡliqah",
      "sense": "in private",
      "word": "خلف الأبواب المغلقة"
    },
    {
      "code": "cs",
      "lang": "Czech",
      "sense": "in private",
      "word": "s vyloučením veřejnosti"
    },
    {
      "code": "nl",
      "lang": "Dutch",
      "sense": "in private",
      "word": "achter gesloten deuren"
    },
    {
      "code": "nl",
      "lang": "Dutch",
      "sense": "in private",
      "word": "binnenskamers"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "in private",
      "word": "suljettujen ovien takana"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "in private",
      "word": "suljetuin ovin"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "in private",
      "word": "à huis clos"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "in private",
      "word": "en privé"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "in private",
      "word": "hinter verschlossenen Türen"
    },
    {
      "code": "el",
      "lang": "Greek",
      "roman": "kekleisménon ton thyrón",
      "sense": "in private",
      "word": "κεκλεισμένων των θυρών"
    },
    {
      "code": "he",
      "lang": "Hebrew",
      "roman": "bidlatáim sgurót",
      "sense": "in private",
      "word": "בִּדְלָתַיִם סְגוּרוֹת"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "in private",
      "word": "zárt ajtók mögött"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "in private",
      "word": "a négy fal között"
    },
    {
      "code": "is",
      "lang": "Icelandic",
      "sense": "in private",
      "word": "á bak við luktar dyr"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "in private",
      "word": "a porte chiuse"
    },
    {
      "code": "lt",
      "lang": "Lithuanian",
      "sense": "in private",
      "word": "už uždarų durų"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "in private",
      "word": "za zamkniętymi drzwiami"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "in private",
      "word": "à porta fechada"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "in private",
      "word": "a portas fechadas"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "in private",
      "word": "entre quatro paredes"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "za zakrýtymi dverjámi",
      "sense": "in private",
      "word": "за закры́тыми дверя́ми"
    },
    {
      "code": "sh",
      "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
      "sense": "in private",
      "word": "iza zatvorenih vrata"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "in private",
      "word": "a puerta cerrada"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "sense": "in private",
      "word": "bakom lyckta dörrar"
    },
    {
      "code": "uk",
      "lang": "Ukrainian",
      "roman": "za zakrýtymy dverýma",
      "sense": "in private",
      "word": "за закри́тими двери́ма"
    },
    {
      "code": "uk",
      "lang": "Ukrainian",
      "roman": "za začýnenymy dverýma",
      "sense": "in private",
      "word": "за зачи́неними двери́ма"
    }
  ],
  "word": "behind closed doors"
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-05-05 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-05-02 using wiktextract (f4fd8c9 and c9440ce). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.