door-to-door
Americanadjective
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calling, selling, canvassing, etc., at each house or apartment in an area, town, or the like.
a door-to-door poll.
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sent direct from the point of pickup to the point of delivery, as a shipment or order of merchandise.
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covering the complete route of a door-to-door shipment, delivery, etc..
door-to-door carrying charges; door-to-door insurance.
adverb
adjective
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(of selling, canvassing, etc) from one house to the next
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(of journeys, deliveries, etc) direct
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Calling at each house, apartment, store, etc. in an area, in order to deliver, sell, or ask for something. For example, We were asked to go door to door to collect enough signatures . [c. 1900]
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Sent from a place of origin or pickup to a place of delivery. For example, They quoted me a price for door to door, as well as a lower one if I would pick up the goods myself . This usage is nearly always applied to a shipment of merchandise.
Etymology
Origin of door-to-door
First recorded in 1900–05
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
There will be two phases of physical door-to-door surveys.
From BBC
The supermarket fixture known for its red-capped spices traces its roots to founder Willoughby McCormick, who at 25 years old started selling root beer, flavoring extracts, and fruit syrups door-to-door.
Jehovah's Witnesses is a Christian-based religious movement, probably best known for its door-to-door evangelism.
From BBC
On Thursday, FBI agents went door-to-door chatting with residents.
From BBC
Scottish Water said it was arranging fresh water to be brought to Killin by tanker, and door-to-door bottled water deliveries would be carried out on Friday afternoon.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.