close programs

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "close programs" is correct and usable in written English.
You can use it when referring to the action of shutting down or terminating applications or software on a computer. Example: "To free up system resources, make sure to close programs that you are not currently using."

✓ Grammatically correct

Wiki

News & Media

Science

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

13 human-written examples

You can tell your computer to open and close programs, scroll up and down the screen and select words and lines to copy, delete or paste.

The New York Times

Instead of ensuring that more poor children receive coverage, the president is trying to close programs that find and enroll them.

The New York Times

"If some of the proposed cuts go into place, some hospitals will have to close programs or decrease the number of trainees.

Huffington Post

Close programs.

WikiHow

Close programs you aren't using.

WikiHow

Close programs which put pressure on your network.

WikiHow

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

47 human-written examples

"Close Program," which exits out of the program.

Cornell University

Close program supervision was conducted by a referent physician who was also in charge of ART initiation and diagnosis, and the treatment of complicated cases.

Global Health Action

Instead, we are closing programs in some 30 countries.

The Washington Post

Increasing your system resources by closing programs might help in this situation as well.

The New York Times - Tech

Conservative seminaries and Bible schools often welcomed women before the 1930s, but many had closed programs to women since then.

The New York Times - Magazine

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

When troubleshooting computer performance issues, advise users to "close programs" they aren't actively using to free up system resources.

Common error

Be specific about which programs to "close programs", especially in technical documentation. Vague instructions can lead users to inadvertently close essential system processes.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "close programs" functions as a verb phrase where 'close' is the verb indicating the action of terminating or shutting down, and 'programs' is the noun referring to the applications being terminated. Ludwig AI confirms this usage in various contexts.

Expression frequency: Uncommon

Frequent in

Wiki

50%

News & Media

30%

Science

20%

Less common in

Formal & Business

0%

Encyclopedias

0%

Social Media

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, the phrase "close programs" is a grammatically correct and usable instruction to terminate running applications, as confirmed by Ludwig. While not extremely common, its usage spans across various contexts, including Wiki guides, news articles, and technical documentation. The phrase is generally neutral in register and serves the purpose of instructing users to shut down applications for various reasons, such as improving computer performance. Alternatives include "shut down applications" or "exit applications". When using this phrase, clarity is key to avoid unintended consequences. Ludwig's examples and the analysis of authoritative sources provide a comprehensive understanding of its appropriate application.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

exit applications

Replaces "programs" with "applications" and "close" with "exit", maintaining the core meaning.

shut down applications

Substitutes "close" with "shut down", which is a common synonym, and replaces "programs" with "applications".

quit programs

Replaces "close" with "quit", a common term especially on macOS.

terminate running processes

Uses more technical terms like "terminate" and "processes" instead of "close" and "programs", making it sound more formal.

end applications

Substitutes "close" with "end", a direct and simple alternative.

shut programs down

Inverts the phrase to "shut programs down", emphasizing the action of shutting them down.

stop programs

Replaces "close" with "stop", indicating the termination of the programs' operation.

kill processes

Uses "kill" to indicate forcefully terminating processes, often used in technical contexts.

deactivate software

Replaces "programs" with "software" and "close" with "deactivate", changing the context slightly to imply making the software inactive.

cease program execution

Uses formal language to replace close with cease execution

FAQs

How do I properly use "close programs" in a sentence?

You can use "close programs" to instruct someone to shut down applications. For example, "To improve your computer's performance, "close programs" that are running in the background."

What's a less technical way to say "close programs"?

Instead of "close programs", you could say "shut down applications" or simply "exit applications" for clarity.

Is there a difference between "close programs" and "end processes"?

"Close programs" generally refers to closing application windows normally. "End processes" implies forcefully terminating a program or background process, often through the Task Manager, and is a more technical term.

What can I do if a program won't close?

If a program is unresponsive, you may need to use the Task Manager (on Windows) or Activity Monitor (on macOS) to force quit or "kill processes" associated with the program.