doorstep
noun
No English definition recorded for this entry.
L319715 on Wikidata ↗Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ˈdɔː(ɹ)stɛp/
noun
Etymology: Etymology tree English door Proto-Germanic *stapjaną Proto-West Germanic *stappjan Old English stæppan Middle English steppen English step English doorstep From door + step.
- An outside step leading up to the door of a building, usually a home.
“Ailie was standing by the doorstep as he came down the road, and her heart stood still with joy.”
“With a little manœuvring they contrived to meet on the doorstep which was […] in a boiling stream of passers-by, hurrying business people speeding past in a flurry of fumes and dust in the bright haze.”
- One's immediate neighbourhood or locality.
“They want to build the prison right on our doorstep; it will only be half a mile away and being that close scares me.”
“As a Hitchin signalman once pointed out to me, when a regulating quandary arises concerning a fast-moving Class A train there is no time to consult Control and get their answer before the express is on one's doorstep.”
- A thick slice, especially of bread.
“I cut myself a doorstep of bread with masses of butter and went along to see Romanov while I was eating it.”
verb
Etymology: Etymology tree English door Proto-Germanic *stapjaną Proto-West Germanic *stappjan Old English stæppan Middle English steppen English step English doorstep From door + step.
- To visit one household after another to solicit sales, charitable donations, political support, etc.
- To corner somebody for an unexpected interview.
“Throughout her time in journalism, she doorstepped politicians, the child of a politician, crime victims, armed robbers, murderers, suspected murderers...”
“Surprisingly few people refused to talk, even those I doorstepped or telephoned out of the blue.”