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Meaning & use

door

noun·Everyday

Last updated

UK/dɔː/
US/dɔːr/

Meanings

  1. nouncountable

    A flat panel, usually on hinges, that you open and close to enter or leave a room, building or vehicle, or to reach inside a cupboard.

    Grammar: Countable: one door, two doors. Used with verbs like open, close and lock.

    Patterns

    • open the door
    • a door to something
    • the door of something

    Please close the door behind you.

    He knocked on the front door and waited.

    The car has four doors and a large trunk.

  2. nouncountable

    The opening that a door fills, or the entrance to a place.

    Grammar: Often used with prepositions of place: at the door, through the door, next door.

    Patterns

    • at the door
    • through the door
    • next door

    She stood in the door and waved.

    The shop is two doors down from the bank.

    They live next door to my aunt.

  3. nouncountablefigurative

    A way of getting a chance or an opportunity.

    Grammar: Used figuratively, often with open and close: the job opened the door to a career.

    Patterns

    • a door to something
    • open doors for someone

    A scholarship opened the door to higher education.

    The failed talks closed the door on peace.

    Good grades will open doors for her.

Word forms

pluraldoors

Common combinations

knock on the door
Someone knocked on the door at midnight.
answer the door
I'll answer the door; it's probably the postman.
slam the door
He slammed the door and stormed out.
front door
Leave your shoes by the front door.
behind closed doors
The deal was agreed behind closed doors.
open the door to
The invention opened the door to new research.

Synonyms and how they differ

entrance
Entrance names any way of going in, including a gate or lobby, while door is the physical panel or its opening.
doorway
Doorway is the opening itself, whereas door is the panel that closes it.
gate
A gate usually closes an outdoor opening in a fence or wall, not a room or building.
hatch
A hatch is a small door in a floor, ship or wall, and is lower or smaller than a normal door.

Opposites

wall

Word family

doorway noun
the opening in which a door is fitted
doorbell noun
a button or bell at a door for visitors to ring
doorstep noun
the step in front of a door
indoor adjective
inside a building
outdoor adjective
outside a building

Commonly confused: door or doorway?

door vs doorway

A door is the panel that opens and closes. A doorway is the opening it covers, so you can stand in a doorway but you cannot open one.

Practice

Which sentence uses door in its figurative sense?

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