Doorstop
noun
An object or device used to hold a door open or closed.
She used a wooden doorstop to keep the door from closing.
Often appears as...
- wooden doorstop
- rubber doorstop
noun
A large book, often used humorously to suggest that the book is only good for holding open doors due to its size or lack of value.
The new encyclopedia is such a doorstop, I don't know how I'll ever read it all.
Often appears as...
- read a doorstop
- big doorstop
Usage tips
Informal, Disapproving
Colloquial
noun
An object or device used to hold a door open or closed.
She used a wooden doorstop to keep the door from closing.
Often appears as...
- wooden doorstop
- rubber doorstop
noun
A large book, often used humorously to suggest that the book is only good for holding open doors due to its size or lack of value.
The new encyclopedia is such a doorstop, I don't know how I'll ever read it all.
Often appears as...
- read a doorstop
- big doorstop
Usage tips
Informal, Disapproving
Colloquial
Definition 1 of 2
Pro Tip 1/3Physical Object
A doorstop refers to any physical item used to keep a door open or shut.
They placed a brick as a doorstop to air out the room.
Pro Tip 2/3Functional Use
Often practical and functional, a doorstop is chosen for its ability to perform its job rather than appearance.
The heavy stone was perfect as a doorstop.
Pro Tip 3/3Not Just Wedges
Doorstops can vary in shape, not just wedges; some may be decorative statues.
Her new doorstop was a cute dog-shaped figurine.
Pro Tip 1/3Physical Object
A doorstop refers to any physical item used to keep a door open or shut.
They placed a brick as a doorstop to air out the room.
Pro Tip 2/3Functional Use
Often practical and functional, a doorstop is chosen for its ability to perform its job rather than appearance.
The heavy stone was perfect as a doorstop.
Pro Tip 3/3Not Just Wedges
Doorstops can vary in shape, not just wedges; some may be decorative statues.
Her new doorstop was a cute dog-shaped figurine.
Pro Tip 1/3Physical Object
A doorstop refers to any physical item used to keep a door open or shut.
They placed a brick as a doorstop to air out the room.
Pro Tip 2/3Functional Use
Often practical and functional, a doorstop is chosen for its ability to perform its job rather than appearance.
The heavy stone was perfect as a doorstop.
Pro Tip 3/3Not Just Wedges
Doorstops can vary in shape, not just wedges; some may be decorative statues.
Her new doorstop was a cute dog-shaped figurine.
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Video examples
Lifesaving scientific...
I made a minor observation. In a clinic, in a far, remote area, I saw a centrifuge being used as a doorstop. I mean -- quite literally, the doorstop. And I asked them and they said, "Oh, we don't actually have electricity,
Video examples
Lifesaving scientific...
I made a minor observation. In a clinic, in a far, remote area, I saw a centrifuge being used as a doorstop. I mean -- quite literally, the doorstop. And I asked them and they said, "Oh, we don't actually have electricity,
Example 1 of 1
Quote examples
Douglas Coupland
Canadian Author
I've got all my old laptops going back to my first, which was so fancy at the time, in '93 or '94, but now it's just like a doorstop. One day I said, 'I'll go in and get all my old documents in there.' The cords and the wires are all gone, the discettes you need are gone. Meanwhile the little electrons are starting to wither away.
Quote examples
Hugh Hardy
American Architect
Please, don't use a cornice as a doorstop. At least put it somewhere where people will have to look up at it. Architectural details really ought to be displayed in the same relation to the viewer as they were originally intended.
Quote examples
Laura van den Berg
American Writer
We write in a culture that favors the heft of the novel. Better still if the novel in question is large enough to be wielded interchangeably as a doorstop and a weapon.
Quote examples
Alfred Hitchcock
English Director
The paperback is very interesting but I find it will never replace the hardcover book - it makes a very poor doorstop.
Quote examples
Alfred Hitchcock
English Director
This paperback is very interesting, but I find it will never replace a hardcover book - it makes a very poor doorstop.
Quote examples
Jack Nance
American Actor
I say that I played a doorstop in Dune because I remember standing around a lot. I was down there for months.
Quote examples
Douglas Coupland
Canadian Author
I've got all my old laptops going back to my first, which was so fancy at the time, in '93 or '94, but now it's just like a doorstop. One day I said, 'I'll go in and get all my old documents in there.' The cords and the wires are all gone, the discettes you need are gone. Meanwhile the little electrons are starting to wither away.
Quote examples
Hugh Hardy
American Architect
Please, don't use a cornice as a doorstop. At least put it somewhere where people will have to look up at it. Architectural details really ought to be displayed in the same relation to the viewer as they were originally intended.
Quote examples
Laura van den Berg
American Writer
We write in a culture that favors the heft of the novel. Better still if the novel in question is large enough to be wielded interchangeably as a doorstop and a weapon.
Quote examples
Alfred Hitchcock
English Director
The paperback is very interesting but I find it will never replace the hardcover book - it makes a very poor doorstop.
Quote examples
Alfred Hitchcock
English Director
This paperback is very interesting, but I find it will never replace a hardcover book - it makes a very poor doorstop.
Quote examples
Jack Nance
American Actor
I say that I played a doorstop in Dune because I remember standing around a lot. I was down there for months.
Example 1 of 6
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