The Stacks project

Definition 100.9.9. Let $\mathcal{X}$ be an algebraic stack.

1. An open substack of $\mathcal{X}$ is a strictly full subcategory $\mathcal{X}' \subset \mathcal{X}$ such that $\mathcal{X}'$ is an algebraic stack and $\mathcal{X}' \to \mathcal{X}$ is an open immersion.

2. A closed substack of $\mathcal{X}$ is a strictly full subcategory $\mathcal{X}' \subset \mathcal{X}$ such that $\mathcal{X}'$ is an algebraic stack and $\mathcal{X}' \to \mathcal{X}$ is a closed immersion.

3. A locally closed substack of $\mathcal{X}$ is a strictly full subcategory $\mathcal{X}' \subset \mathcal{X}$ such that $\mathcal{X}'$ is an algebraic stack and $\mathcal{X}' \to \mathcal{X}$ is an immersion.