doorway

doorway — noun

1. the space in the wall of a building or room that a door fits into, giving people

1.nounB1
Definition

the space in the wall of a building or room that a door fits into, giving people a way to go in or out

Example

Dewi stood in the doorway and called goodbye to his flatmates.

collocation: stand in the doorway

A tall man in a grey coat appeared in the doorway of the shop.

collocation: appear in the doorway of [place]

Common collocations
  • stand in the doorway
  • appear in the doorway
  • fill the doorway
  • block the doorway
  • lean against the doorway
  • the doorway of a house / shop / room
  • through the doorway
  • a narrow / low / wide doorway
  • a wooden / stone / arched doorway
Synonyms
  • entrance

    broader term — can refer to any way into a place, not just one with a door

  • entryway

    common in American English; often includes the area just inside the door

  • opening

    general word; lacks the specific sense that a door belongs there

  • portal

    more formal or literary; suggests a grand or impressive entrance

Usage Note

Commonly used with prepositions of position or movement: stand in the doorway, appear in the doorway, walk through the doorway. The doorway refers to the opening itself, not the door panel that swings open.

Common Mistakes

She knocked on the doorway.
She knocked on the door.
Doorway refers to the opening in the wall, not the wooden or metal panel you knock on.
He walked through the door of the kitchen.' (when describing the space)
He walked through the doorway into the kitchen.
Use doorway when you mean the passage through the wall; door refers to the object that opens and closes.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Doorway focuses specifically on the opening in the wall where a door is fitted — you can stand in it or walk through it. An entrance is any way into a place (a door, a gate, a passage), and often carries a sense of arrival. Entryway is the American term for the area just inside the front door, not just the opening itself. Door refers to the moving panel that swings or slides to close the opening, not the space. Gateway implies an entry framed by a structure (often an arch) and is common in figurative language ('gateway to success'). For everyday use, use doorway when describing the opening; use door when talking about the object you push or pull.

entrance ↗entrywaydoor ↗gateway ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • doorway of a house / room / shop / building

Phrases

  • stand in the doorway
  • fill the doorway
  • block the doorway
  • appear in the doorway
  • walk through the doorway
  • duck through the doorway

Prepositions

  • in the doorway
  • through the doorway
  • out of the doorway

Etymology

Old EnglishEnglish

Doorway comes from two Old English words: duru (door) and weg (way, path). Speakers began combining them to mean 'the way or passage through a door' by around the 1700s. The word is a compound whose meaning is easy to guess even on first hearing: the way of or through a door.