A cloze test (also cloze deletion test) is an exercise, test, or assessment consisting of a portion of text with certain words removed, where the participant is asked to replace the missing words. Cloze tests require the ability to understand context and vocabulary in order to identify the correct words or type of words that belong in the deleted passages of a text.
The word cloze derives from closure in Gestalt theory. The exercise was first described by W.L. Taylor in 1953.