revolving door
Americannoun
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an entrance door for excluding drafts from the interior of a building, usually consisting of four rigid leaves set in the form of a cross and rotating about a central, vertical pivot in the doorway.
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Informal.
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a company, institution, or organization with a high turnover of personnel or members.
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a legal, medical, or other system or agency that discharges criminals, patients, etc., in the shortest possible time and without adequate attention or consideration.
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noun
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a door that rotates about a central vertical axis, esp one with four leaves arranged at right angles to each other, thereby excluding draughts
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informal a tendency to change personnel on a frequent basis
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( as modifier )
a revolving-door band
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informal the hiring of former government employees by private companies with which they had dealings when they worked for the government
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( as modifier )
revolving-door consultancies
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Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of revolving door
First recorded in 1905–10
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.
The Ferus Gallery was a revolving door of experimentation at the time and helped fuse the city’s otherwise sprawling and disparate art scene.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026
But AI’s revolving door has been spinning especially fast of late—enough to raise real concerns about OpenAI and Google losing top talent.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
Xabi Alonso is the latest with his foot in the revolving door of managers at Chelsea.
From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026
The Swiss-listed stock has plummeted 41% since early 2022, dragged down by weak sales, misguided acquisitions, and a revolving door at the top.
From Barron's ● Jun. 10, 2026
The revolving door pushes against months of debris as I enter the building.
From "Dumplin'" by Julie Murphy
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