I. door 1 S1 W1 /dɔː $ dɔːr/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Language: Old English ; Origin: duru 'door' and dor 'gate' ]
1 . the large flat piece of wood, glass etc that you move when you go into or out of a building, room, vehicle etc, or when you open a cupboard ⇨ gate :
Could you open the door for me?
The door flew open and Ruth stormed in.
Don’t forget to lock the garage door.
⇨ ↑ fire door , ↑ French doors , ↑ revolving door (1), ↑ sliding door , ↑ stage door , ↑ swing door , ↑ trapdoor
2 . the space made by an open door SYN doorway
in/out (of)/through the door
Rick turned and ran out of the door.
I glanced through the open door.
3 . at the door if someone is at the door, they are waiting for you to open the door of a building so they can come inside:
There’s somebody at the front door.
4 . out of doors outside SYN outdoors :
I prefer working out of doors.
5 . show/see somebody to the door to take someone to the main way out of a building:
My secretary will show you to the door.
6 . two/three etc doors away/down/up used to say how many houses or buildings there are between your house, office etc and another building
two/three etc doors away/down/up from
Patrick lived two doors away from me.
7 . (from) door to door
a) especially British English from one place to another:
How long is the journey, door to door?
b) going to each house in a street or area to sell something, collect money, or ask for votes:
Joe sold vacuum cleaners door to door for years.
⇨ ↑ door-to-door
8 . be on the door to work at the entrance to a theatre, club etc, collecting tickets
9 . shut/close the door on something to make something impossible:
The accident shut the door on her ballet career.
⇨ at death’s door at ↑ death (7), ⇨ behind closed doors at ↑ closed (5), ⇨ get in through the back door at ↑ back door (2), ⇨ lay something at sb’s door at ↑ lay 2 (19), ⇨ ↑ next door , ⇨ open doors (for somebody) at ↑ open 2 (16), ⇨ ↑ open-door policy , ⇨ open the door to something at ↑ open 2 (16), ⇨ show somebody the door at ↑ show 1 (20)
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ verbs
▪ open/close/shut the door
I opened the door and Dad was standing there.
|
Can you close the door as you go out?
▪ slam/bang the door (=shut it loudly, usually because you are angry)
He strode from the room, slamming the door behind him.
▪ answer the door (=open it for someone who has knocked or pressed the bell)
Lucy ran downstairs to answer the door.
▪ a door leads somewhere (=used to say what place is on the other side of a door)
This door leads into the garden.
▪ a door opens/closes/shuts
We were still waiting for the train doors to open.
▪ a door slams/bangs (shut) (=shuts loudly)
I heard the front door slam.
▪ a door flies/bursts open (=opens very suddenly and quickly)
Then the door burst open and two men with guns came in.
▪ a door swings open/shut (=moves forward to open or backwards to shut)
The door swung shut behind me.
▪ a door slides open/shut (=moves smoothly to the side or back again)
The lift doors slid open and we got in.
▪ lock/unlock the door
I locked the door and turned out the lights.
▪ bolt the door (=slide a metal bar across to fasten it)
Once inside, he bolted the door.
▪ knock on/at the door (=hit it with your hand to make someone open it)
Who's that knocking at the door?
▪ bang/hammer on the door (=hit it very loudly and urgently)
A policeman was banging on the door across the road.
▪ tap on/at the door (=hit it very gently)
I tapped on the door and opened it.
▪ get the door (=open or close it for someone)
Could you get the door for me?
■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + door
▪ the front/back/side door (=of a house)
I heard someone knocking at the front door.
|
Use the back door if your boots are muddy.
▪ the main door (=the door into a building that most people use)
The main door to the hotel is on Queen Street.
▪ the kitchen/bedroom/bathroom etc door
The kitchen door opened and Jake walked in.
▪ the cupboard door British English , the closet door AmE:
Both the cupboard doors were locked.
▪ the fridge/oven door
Steam came out as I opened the oven door.
▪ a car door
She heard a car door slamming.
▪ the passenger door (=for the person in a car who sits beside the driver)
The taxi driver was holding open the passenger door.
▪ a rear door (=a door at the back of a vehicle)
The kids opened the rear doors and climbed in.
■ door + NOUN
▪ a door handle (=that you move up or down to open a door)
Ella reached for the door handle.
▪ a door knob (=that you turn to open a door)
I turned the door knob and went into the room.
▪ a door knocker (=a metal object on a door that you use to knock with)
There was a brass door knocker in the shape of a lion's head.
▪ a door bell (=that you press to make it ring)
Adam walked up the path and rang the door bell.
▪ a door key
She was looking in her bag for her door key.
II. door 2 BrE AmE verb [transitive]
to hit someone with a car door when they are riding past on a bicycle:
I nearly got doored as I went past the flats in Camden Street.