door
A1Universal
Definition
Meaning
A movable barrier used to close off an entrance to a building, room, vehicle, or piece of furniture, typically hinged, sliding, or revolving.
A means of access, opportunity, or barrier; a metaphorical entry point or boundary (e.g., 'the door to success', 'closed doors').
Linguistics
Semantic Notes
Primarily a concrete, countable noun. Can be used figuratively to represent opportunity, privacy, or separation. Often part of compound nouns (door handle, doorbell).
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
Usage is largely identical. Minor differences in phrasing: 'knock on the door' (BrE) vs. 'knock at the door' (AmE) are both used, with the former slightly more common in BrE. The preposition 'out of' (AmE: 'out the door') is sometimes contracted in informal AmE.
Connotations
Identical core connotations.
Frequency
Equally high frequency in both varieties.
Vocabulary
Collocations
Grammar
Valency Patterns
V + door (open/close/slam/lock/answer the door)Prep + door (at/behind/through/by the door)Door + of + N (door of the house)Door + to + N (door to opportunity)Vocabulary
Synonyms
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “behind closed doors”
- “open doors for someone”
- “show someone the door”
- “at death's door”
- “get a foot in the door”
- “out of doors”
- “lie at someone's door”
Usage
Context Usage
Business
Metaphorical: 'opening doors for new business', 'revolving door policy' (high staff turnover).
Academic
Used literally and figuratively in social sciences: 'barriers and doors to inclusion'.
Everyday
Extremely common for referring to physical entrances/exits and basic actions.
Technical
In architecture/engineering: specifications for fire doors, pressure doors.
Examples
By Part of Speech
verb
British English
- The police will door every house in the street to gather information.
- They doored the suspect as he tried to escape.
American English
- The candidate doored the neighborhood during the campaign.
- He got doored by a cyclist while exiting his car.
adverb
British English
- (Rare/Non-standard) He walked door, slamming it behind him.
American English
- (Rare/Non-standard, informal) He ran straight out the door.
adjective
British English
- The door furniture was antique brass.
- We need a door-to-door salesman.
American English
- She bought a new door handle.
- The party is door-deck style (bring your own drinks).
Examples
By CEFR Level
- Please close the door.
- The cat is sitting by the door.
- My flat has a blue front door.
- Could you answer the door? The bell is ringing.
- She accidentally locked herself out because the door shut behind her.
- We need to replace the kitchen door as it's sticking.
- The new policy has opened the door to significant investment.
- They conducted the negotiations behind closed doors.
- He stood in the open doorway, silhouetted against the light.
- The scandal ultimately laid the blame at the minister's door.
- Her impressive internship provided her with a foot in the door at the prestigious firm.
- The revolving door of coaches continued to destabilise the team.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
A door has FOUR letters and is often found at the entrance to a room or building - both 'four' and 'door' rhyme with 'more'.
Conceptual Metaphor
OPPORTUNITY IS A DOOR (open/close a door); PRIVACY/EXCLUSION IS A CLOSED DOOR; CHANGE/TRANSITION IS PASSING THROUGH A DOOR.
Watch out
Common Pitfalls
Translation Traps (for Russian speakers)
- Avoid confusing with 'gate' (ворота). A 'door' (дверь) is typically for buildings/rooms/cars; a 'gate' is for fences, gardens, stadiums.
- The phrase 'next door' means 'in the next house/flat' (соседний), not 'near the door'.
- In idioms: 'at death's door' means очень болен, при смерти, not literally near a door.
Common Mistakes
- Incorrect preposition: 'I waited on the door' (should be 'at the door').
- Uncountable use: 'The house has beautiful door' (needs 'a' or plural).
- Confusion with 'window' for very young learners.
Practice
Quiz
In the idiom 'a foot in the door', what does 'door' metaphorically represent?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
The core meaning and usage are identical. Very minor differences exist in informal prepositional use (e.g., 'out the door' is more common in AmE, while 'out of the door' is standard in BrE).
Yes, but it's less common and often informal or jargon-specific. As a verb, it can mean to strike someone with a door (especially a car door) or, in canvassing contexts, to go from door to door.
A door is typically part of a building, room, vehicle, or cabinet. A gate is usually an opening in a fence, wall, or outdoor boundary, like a garden gate or stadium gate.
Idioms are fixed expressions. Learn them as chunks: 'open the door to (something)' means create an opportunity for it. 'Behind closed doors' means in secret. 'Show someone the door' means ask them to leave.
Collections
Part of a collection
Transport
A2 · 48 words · Ways of getting from place to place.