Meaning & use
open door
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
A doorway or entrance that is not closed, allowing people to enter freely.
Grammar: Countable: 'an open door,' 'the open doors.' Often used with 'through': 'walk through an open door.'
Patterns
- through an open door
- leave the door open
- an open door to something
She left the open door and the cat ran out.
We could see the garden through the open door.
He stood in the open door and waited for us.
nouncountablefigurative
A situation that gives someone a chance to do something or to be welcomed.
Grammar: Usually singular in this sense: 'an open door to success.'
Patterns
- an open door to something
- open the door to something
- open doors for someone
A good education can be an open door to many careers.
The new policy opened the door to foreign investment.
Her internship opened doors for her in the industry.
nouncountable
A policy of allowing anyone to enter, join, or take part without restrictions.
Grammar: Often used in the phrase 'open door policy.'
Patterns
- open door policy
- have an open door policy
The company has an open door policy for employees to speak to managers.
The university follows an open door admission policy for local students.
The government announced an open door policy for refugees.
Word forms
| plural | open doors |
|---|
Common combinations
- leave the door open
- Please leave the door open so the room can air out.
- through an open door
- The sunlight came through the open door.
- an open door to
- This job is an open door to a better future.
- open doors for
- His mentor opened doors for him in the music business.
- open door policy
- The manager has an open door policy, so you can talk to her anytime.
- keep an open door
- They keep an open door for former students who need advice.
Synonyms and how they differ
- entrance
- Refers to the physical place you enter, not the state of being open.
- opportunity
- A chance to do something; 'open door' is more figurative and suggests access or welcome.
- access
- The right or ability to enter or use something; 'open door' often implies a welcoming attitude.
Opposites
Word family
- open-door adjective
- Describing a policy or attitude that allows free access, as in 'open-door policy.'
Commonly confused: open door or open-door?
open door vs open-door
As an adjective, it is hyphenated: 'an open-door policy.' As a noun phrase, it is two words: 'an open door.'
Practice
The scholarship ______ doors for students from poor families.
Choose one answer.
The past tense 'opened' fits because the sentence describes a completed action. 'Opens' would be present tense but the subject is singular and the context suggests a past event; 'opening' and 'open' do not fit the grammar here.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “open door”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.