door

[ dawr, dohr ]

noun

1. a movable, usually solid, barrier for opening and closing an entranceway, cupboard, cabinet, or the like, commonly turning on hinges or sliding in grooves.
2. a doorway:

   to go through the door.

3. the building, house, etc., to which a door belongs:

   My friend lives two doors down the street.

4. any means of approach, admittance, or access:

   the doors to learning.

5. any gateway marking an entrance or exit from one place or state to another:

   at heaven's door.

door

/ dɔː /

noun

1. 1. a hinged or sliding panel for closing the entrance to a room, cupboard, etc
   2. ( in combination )

      doorknob

      doorbell

2. a doorway or entrance to a room or building
3. a means of access or escape

   a door to success

4. early doors informal.
   sport at an early stage
5. lay at someone's door
   to lay (the blame or responsibility) on someone
6. out of doors
   in or into the open air
7. show someone the door
   to order someone to leave

Other Words From

• doorless adjective
• half-door adjective noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of door¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English dore, Old English duru “door,” dor “gate”; akin to German Tür, Old Norse dyrr, Greek thýra, Latin foris, Old Irish dorus, Old Chursh Slavonic dvĭrĭ

Word History and Origins

Origin of door¹

Old English duru; related to Old Frisian dure, Old Norse dyrr, Old High German turi, Latin forēs, Greek thura

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. lay at someone's door, to hold someone accountable for; blame; impute.
2. leave the door open, to allow the possibility of accommodation or change; be open to reconsideration:

   The boss rejected our idea but left the door open for discussing it again next year.

3. lie at someone's door, to be the responsibility of; be imputable to:

   One's mistakes often lie at one's own door.

4. show someone the door, to request or order someone to leave; dismiss:

   She resented his remark and showed him the door.

More idioms and phrases containing door

see at death's door ; at one's door ; back door ; beat a path to someone's door ; behind closed doors ; close the door on ; darken one's door ; foot in the door ; keep the wolf from the door ; lay at someone's door ; leave the door open ; lock the barn door ; next door to ; open doors ; open the door to ; see someone out (to the door) ; show someone out (to the door) ; show someone the door .

Example Sentences

Fuzzy night-time footage shows the bear spending about 30-45 seconds in the car, rummaging around the front and back, before falling out of the open passenger door.

From BBC

She woke up to balloons and banners outside her door, before she was presented with a candlelit chocolate cake.

From BBC

"I just needed to be on my own. As I shut the door, I could hear those two men laughing."

From BBC

He greeted me wearing gray felt slippers, green pants and a rust-colored down vest at the door of the large brick home that he had lived in for the past 22 years.

From Salon

It was the thrashings that Smyth was giving boys with a notorious table tennis bat, dubbed "TTB", that led a parent to the door of Coltart, who worked at a law practice in Zimbabwe's second city, Bulawayo.

From BBC

Related Words

• exit
• gate