doorway
Americannoun
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doorways
plural
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the passage or opening into a building, room, etc., commonly closed and opened by a door; portal.
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a means of access.
a doorway to success.
noun
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an opening into a building, room, etc, esp one that has a door
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a means of access or escape
a doorway to freedom
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of doorway
Explanation
A doorway is the place through which you enter a room. Some doorways have actual doors, while others are merely arched openings into a room or building. If you stand in your doorway watching your neighbor approach on his bike, you've probably got the front door open and you're standing in its space. The doorway to your living room, on the other hand, might be a simple arch or wide entryway. The word dates from about 1799, from door and way, which here means "space" — it's the space in a wall where a door sits.
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.
See Examples For:
But with sneakers strewn in the doorway and a cookbook opened to a specific recipe, the faux house felt lived in.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026
“What I remember is the time John Wayne killed three men with a carbine . . . and the time the kitten found Orson Welles in the doorway in The Third Man.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026
A great song offers pleasure, but a great album – no skips – is a doorway.
From Salon ● Jun. 5, 2026
This creates what is known as the doorway effect, which confuses our brains.
From BBC ● May 29, 2026
But somehow we crossed the stony field to our doorway.
From "Nory Ryan’s Song" by Patricia Reilly Giff
The family scrambled beneath a doorframe, a time-worn strategy based on the belief, often mistaken, that doorways offer protection.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2026
But many of their homes aren’t suitable for aging because of stairs, bathtubs, narrow doorways and slippery tile floors.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 13, 2026
Neuroscience and architecture expert Meredith Banasiak, who researches the link between buildings and human wellbeing, says hallways and doorways often spark this fear.
From BBC ● May 29, 2026
Fewer than 4% of all U.S. homes offer single-floor living, no-step entries, and wide hallways and doorways — the key features of accessible housing — according to Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies.
From MarketWatch ● May 9, 2026
Every day now I would see them in their hundreds, outside the soup kitchens, lining up in the snow, or huddled together against the cold in doorways, the children crying.
From "An Elephant in the Garden" by Michael Morpurgo
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.
