Doorstep Meaning
/ˈdɔː(ɹ)stɛp/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounAn outside step leading up to the door of a building, usually a home.
nounOne's immediate neighbourhood or locality.
Sentence Examples
Looking out of the window, I saw a stranger at the doorstep.
An odd shoe was left on the doorstep.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
The milkman left the fresh bottles on our front ____ every morning.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Looking out of the window, I saw a stranger at the ____.
Word Origin & History
Etymology tree English door Proto-Germanic *stapjaną Proto-West Germanic *stappjan Old English stæppan Middle English steppen English step English doorstep From door + step.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Ailie was standing by the doorstep as he came down the road, and her heart stood still with joy."
— 1902, John Buchan, The Outgoing of the Tide:
"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."
— 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 10, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:
"The narrow streets that twist and turn through the compact heart of Dent are surfaced with cobbles which, in the absence of pavements, spread right across from doorstep to doorstep."
— 1980, AA Book of British Villages, Drive Publications Ltd, page 150:
"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."
— 1962 May, G. Freeman Allen, “Traffic control on the Great Northern Line”, in Modern Railways, page 343:
"Milk from the Eden Valley could be on London doorsteps the next morning. Limestone and agricultural lime from the Ribble Valley and gypsum from further north could at last be transported long distances by the trainload. The railway had been driven along, over and through the valuable substances that were on its doorstep, much akin to the situation in Britain's coalfields."
— 2021 November 17, Mark Rand, “Reconnecting rail freight to S&C quarries”, in RAIL, number 944, page 52:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The milkman left the fresh bottles on our front ____ every morning.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Looking out of the window, I saw a stranger at the ____.