door-to-door

[ dawr-tuh-dawr, dohr-tuh-dohr ]

/ ˈdɔr təˈdɔr, ˈdoʊr təˈdoʊr /

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See synonyms for door-to-door on Thesaurus.com

adjective

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.

adverb

in a door-to-door manner.

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Origin of door-to-door

First recorded in 1900–05

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use door-to-door in a sentence

A guard is manning the door, which is always kept ajar so she can be monitored.
Should Teens Have The Right To Die?|Brandy Zadrozny|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
What 15 months in a federal correction institution will be like, according to a man who counsels to-be inmates.
How a ‘Real Housewife’ Survives Prison: ‘I Don’t See [Teresa Giudice] Having a Cakewalk Here’|Michael Howard|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The kid from next door drops by and Marvin talks to him about the stunts in his latest film, Death Hunt.
The Story Behind Lee Marvin’s Liberty Valance Smile|Robert Ward|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
That means the F-35 will be almost entirely reliant on long-range air-to-air missiles.
New U.S. Stealth Jet Can’t Fire Its Gun Until 2019|Dave Majumdar|December 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST

It will still carry a pair of Raytheon AIM-120 AMRAAM long-range air-to-air missiles and a pair of bombs.
New U.S. Stealth Jet Can’t Fire Its Gun Until 2019|Dave Majumdar|December 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Before Ripperda could unclasp his lips to reply, the stranger had opened the door, and passed through it like a gliding shadow.
The Pastor's Fire-side Vol. 3 of 4|Jane Porter
She looked so sweet when she said it, standing and smiling there in the middle of the floor, the door-way making a frame for her.
Music-Study in Germany|Amy Fay
She walked away toward another door, which was masked with a curtain that she lifted.
Confidence|Henry James
Each day she resolved, "To-morrow I will tell Felipe;" and when to-morrow came, she put it off again.
Ramona|Helen Hunt Jackson
Hilda, trembling at the door, more than half expected Mr. Orgreave to say: "You mean, she's invited herself."
Hilda Lessways|Arnold Bennett

British Dictionary definitions for door-to-door

door to door

adjective, adverb (door-to-door when prenominal)

(of selling, canvassing, etc) from one house to the next

(of journeys, deliveries, etc) direct

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with door-to-door

door to door

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.