door

[dawr, dohr]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR door ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a movable, usually solid, barrier for opening and closing an entranceway, cupboard, cabinet, or the like, commonly turning on hinges or sliding in grooves.

a doorway: to go through the door.

the building, house, etc., to which a door belongs: My friend lives two doors down the street.

any means of approach, admittance, or access: the doors to learning.

any gateway marking an entrance or exit from one place or state to another: at heaven's door.

Idioms

lay at someone's door, to hold someone accountable for; blame; impute.

leave the door open, to allow the possibility of accommodation or change; be open to reconsideration: The boss rejected our idea but left the door open for discussing it again next year.

lie at someone's door, to be the responsibility of; be imputable to: One's mistakes often lie at one's own door.

show someone the door, to request or order someone to leave; dismiss: She resented his remark and showed him the door.

Origin of door

before 900; Middle English dore, Old English duru door, dor gate; akin to German Tür, Old Norse dyrr, Greek thýra, Latin foris, Old Irish dorus, OCS dvĭrĭ

Related formsdoor·less, adjectivehalf-door, adjective, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

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British Dictionary definitions for show someone the door

door

noun

a hinged or sliding panel for closing the entrance to a room, cupboard, etc
(in combination)doorbell; doorknob

a doorway or entrance to a room or building

a means of access or escapea door to success

early doors British informal esp sport at an early stage

lay at someone's door to lay (the blame or responsibility) on someone

out of doors in or into the open air

show someone the door to order someone to leave

Word Origin for door

Old English duru; related to Old Frisian dure, Old Norse dyrr, Old High German turi, Latin forēs, Greek thura

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

Word Origin and History for show someone the door

door

Middle English merger of Old English dor (neuter; plural doru) "large door, gate," and Old English duru (fem., plural dura) "door, gate, wicket;" both from Proto-Germanic *dur- (cf. Old Saxon duru, Old Norse dyrr, Danish dør, Old Frisian dure, Old High German turi, German Tür).

The Germanic words are from PIE *dhwer- "a doorway, a door, a gate" (cf. Greek thura, Latin foris, Gaulish doro "mouth," Gothic dauro "gate," Sanskrit dvárah "door, gate," Old Persian duvara- "door," Old Prussian dwaris "gate," Russian dver' "a door").

The base form is frequently in dual or plural, leading to speculation that houses of the original Indo-Europeans had doors with two swinging halves. Middle English had both dure and dor; form dore predominated by 16c., but was supplanted by door.

A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of. [Ogden Nash]

Idioms and Phrases with show someone the door

show someone the door

Order someone to leave, as in I never should have listened to him; I should have shown him the door at once. This expression, first recorded in 1778, is not the same as show someone to the door (see under show someone out).

door

see at death's door; at one's door; back door; beat a path to someone's door; behind closed doors; close the door on; darken one's door; foot in the door; keep the wolf from the door; lay at someone's door; leave the door open; lock the barn door; next door to; open doors; open the door to; see someone out (to the door); show someone out (to the door); show someone the door.