dooryard

American

[dawr-yahrd, dohr-] / ˈdɔrˌjɑrd, ˈdoʊr- /

noun

a yard in front of the door of a house.

dooryard British

/ ˈdɔːˌjɑːd /

noun

a yard in front of the front or back door of a house

"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

Etymology

Origin of dooryard

An Americanism dating back to 1755–65; door + yard ²

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:

dooryard

Plus, many Vermonters have - for more than a century now - taken great pride in the ingenuity and resourcefulness of dooryard junkers.

From Washington Times ● Apr. 2, 2021

Over the bright new stone and whitewash museum that stood at the other end of the dooryard they brooded like a couple of aging hens over a porcelain egg.

From Time Magazine Archive

The charm of the play was in its note, however falsetto, of meadowy romp and dooryard homeliness.

From Time Magazine Archive

At 5:50, dripping wet and covered with mud, she reached Farmer Reuben Schupbach's dooryard.

From Time Magazine Archive

Then, holding the baby, she ran around the small dooryard.

From "Son" by Lois Lowry

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023