calling, selling, canvassing, etc., at each house or apartment in an area, town, or the like.
a door-to-door poll.
sent direct from the point of pickup to the point of delivery, as a shipment or order of merchandise.
covering the complete route of a door-to-door shipment, delivery, etc..
door-to-door carrying charges; door-to-door insurance.
(of selling, canvassing, etc) from one house to the next
(of journeys, deliveries, etc) direct
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]
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.
First recorded in 1900–05
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
On a sticky morning in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata, Koustav Bagchi moves from door to door in a crisp white and red traditional attire, a fish in hand.
From BBC • Apr. 20, 2026
"I am going door to door," BNP candidate S.M Zilany, 57, told AFP, saying many would-be voters had never had a candidate canvass for their backing.
From Barron's • Jan. 24, 2026
The National Guard will be going door to door to notify residents and to assist with evacuations, county officials said.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 12, 2025
Saturday, multiple law enforcement agencies had descended on the neighborhood and were going door to door around the area.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 2, 2025
I went from door to door, ringing the bells.
From "Black Boy" by Richard Wright
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.
