doornail
408
treated like a doormat by that family of hers all her life.
(=they have never considered her feelings or needs and she
has never complained)
door-nail /'dɔːneɪl||'dɔːr-/ n → see dead as a doornail
(DEAD¹)
door-plate /'dɔːpleɪt||'dɔːr-/ n a flat piece of metal, usually
brass, fixed to a door and bearing a name, especially the
name of the person living or working inside → see also
NAMEPLATE
'door prize n AmE a prize given to someone who has drawn or
paid for a winning ticket at a show, dance, or party, especially
if the purpose of the draw is to raise money for CHARITY
Doors, The /dɔːz||dɔːrz/ a US ROCK group, who were
extremely popular in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Their
singer was Jim MORRISON and their songs included Light My
Fire and Riders on the Storm.
door-step /'dɔːstep||'dɔːr-/ n 1 a step in front of an outer
door 2 BrE slang a very thick piece of bread cut from a
loaf 3 on one's doorstep very near to where one lives or is
staying: 'Is the lake far from your hotel?' 'No, it's right on our
doorstep!'
door-step-ping /'dɔːˌstepɪŋ||'dɔːr-/ n, adj [A;U] BrE derog
visiting people at their homes in order to get votes or
information: doorstepping journalists
door-stop /'dɔːstɒp||'dɔːrstɑːp/ BrE || also door-stop-per
/-stɒpə||-stɑː-/ AmE — n an apparatus for holding a door
open or preventing it from opening too far
door-to-door 'salesman n a sales person who visits
people in their homes, without invitation, to try to sell
them something
CULTURAL NOTE In Britain, the image that many people
have of a door-to-door salesman is of someone who uses
lies and tricks in order to sell things, the most popular
trick being to put one foot inside the open door of a
house so that the person who lives there cannot close the
door and has to listen to the salesman. This kind of selling
is supposed to be common for home improvements,
especially DOUBLE-GLAZING, and in the past for
ENCYCLOPEDIAS.
door-way /'dɔːweɪ||'dɔːr-/ n an opening for a door into a
building or room (not into a piece of furniture): She stood in
the doorway, unable to decide whether to go in.
doo-zy, doozie /'duːzi/ n [C] AmE infml something that is so
good, bad, strange etc that you can hardly believe it: I've
heard lies before, but that one was a real doozy!
dope¹ /dəʊp/ n 1 [U] infml an ILLEGAL drug, especially MARI-
JUANA: He was arrested for selling dope. | a dope dealer
(=someone who sells drugs) 2 [C] infml a stupid per-
son 3 [U(on)] old-fash slang information, especially from some-
one who can be trusted: Give me all the dope on the new
teacher. 4 [U] old-fash any thick liquid used for making
machines run easily
dope² v [T(UP)] infml to give a drug to (a person) or put a drug
in (food or drink), especially in order to make someone
sleepy: They doped his drink and then robbed the house while
he lay unconscious. | The horse was disqualified from the race
because it had been doped.
dope³ adj AmE slang very good: The new album is dope.
dopey, dopy adj 1 infml dull and inactive in the mind and
feelings as if from alcohol or a drug; not fully awake: Lack of
sleep can make you feel dopey. 2 slang stupid
Dop-ey /'dəʊpi/ one of the seven DWARFS in the story of
SNOW WHITE, called Dopey because he is rather stupid
dop-pel-gang-er /'dɒpəlgæŋə, -gæŋ-||'dɑː-/ n Ger 1 some-
one who looks exactly like someone else 2 an imaginary
spirit that looks exactly like a living person
Dop-pler ef-fect, the /'dɒplə ɪˌfekt||'dɑː-/ the way that
sound or light waves produced by an object change as that
object approaches or moves away from you. This effect can be
noticed, for example, in the way that the sound of a SIREN
(=the loud warning sound used on police cars, fire engines
etc) becomes lower after the vehicle passes you. → see also
RED SHIFT
Dor-ches-ter /'dɔːtʃɪstə||'dɔːrtʃes-/ a market town in Dor-
set, southern England, known for its connections with the
writer Thomas HARDY, who was born nearby. The local gov-
ernment of Dorset is based there.
Dorchester, the a large expensive hotel in London
Dor-dogne, the /dɔː'dɒn||dɔːr'doʊn/ an area in southwest
France around the River Dordogne, which is a popular place
for tourists. Many MIDDLE-CLASS British families go to the
Dordogne for their summer holidays, usually to go camping
or to stay in a GÎTE (=a rented house).
Do-ri-an Gray /ˌdɔːriən 'greɪ/ the main character in the
novel The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar WILDE
Dor-ic /'dɒrɪk||'dɔːr-, 'dɑːr-/ adj of, like, or typical of the oldest
and simplest style of ancient Greek building: a Doric pillar
→ compare CORINTHIAN, IONIC
Do-ri-tos /də'rɪtəʊz/ trademark a type of CORN CHIP
dork /dɔːk||dɔːrk/ n AmE slang a person who is considered
stupid because they behave strangely or wear odd clothes:
He didn't get the joke. What a dork! —y adj; a dorky grin
dor-mant /'dɔːmənt||'dɔːr-/ adj inactive, especially not actu-
ally growing or producing typical effects: These bulbs remain
dormant for a period of time, before becoming active again
under the earth during winter. | a dormant volcano | (fig.) The
report lay dormant for two years while the company tried to
find additional finances to implement its suggestions.
dor-mer /'dɔːmə||'dɔːr-/ also 'dormer, window n a win-
dow built upright in a sloping roof
dor-mi-to-ry¹ /'dɔːmɪtəri||'dɔːrmətɔːri/ also dorm
/dɔːm||dɔːrm/ infml — n 1 a large room for sleeping in,
containing a number of beds, usually in a BOARDING SCHOOL
or YOUTH HOSTEL: The girls planned a midnight feast in the
dormitory. 2 AmE a building in a college or university, where
students live and sleep; HALL OF RESIDENCE
dormitory² especially BrE || bedroom AmE — adj [A] (of a
place) from which people travel to work in the city every
day: a dormitory town/suburb
Dor-mo-bile /'dɔːməbiːl||'dɔːr-/ trademark also Camper
Van BrE || Camper AmE trademark a type of vehicle big
enough to live in when on holiday, having cooking equip-
ment and beds in the back part
dor-mouse /'dɔːmaʊs||'dɔːr-/ n pl. -mice /maɪs/ a small
European woodland animal with a long furry tail that looks
rather like a small SQUIRREL. In Lewis CARROLL's children's
book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland one of the characters is
a dormouse. It is always very sleepy.
dor-sal /'dɔːsəl||'dɔːr-/ adj [A] tech of, on, or near the back,
especially of an animal: the dorsal fin of a shark
Dor-set /'dɔːsɪt||'dɔːr-/ a COUNTY in southwest England,
with many popular holiday towns on its coast. The writer
Thomas Hardy set most of his novels in Dorset, which he
called 'Wessex'.
do-ry /'dɔːri/ n a flat-bottomed rowing boat used for fishing
DOS /dɒs||dɑːs/ n [U] abbrev. for Disk Operating System; the
basic SOFTWARE in a computer system that makes all the
different parts work together. The word DOS is often used to
mean the Microsoft system called MS-DOS.
dos-age /'dəʊsɪdʒ/ n fml [C usually sing.] the amount of a dose:
a dosage of one tablet three times a day for seven days
dose¹ /dəʊs/ n 1 [(of)] a measured amount (of a medicine)
given or to be taken at one time: Take one dose of this cough
syrup three times a day. | (fig.) In the accident, the workers
received a heavy dose of radiation. 2 [(of)] a period of experi-
encing something unpleasant: a bad dose of flu 3 slang a case
of GONORRHEA 4 like a dose of salts BrE infml very quickly
and easily: This new dishwasher will get through all the dirty
dishes like a dose of salts.
dose² v [T(UP, with)] often derog to give medicine to: She dosed up
the children with cough syrup.
dosh /dɒʃ||dɑːʃ/ n [U] BrE slang money: Have you got any dosh?
do-si-do /ˌdəʊ siː 'dəʊ/ n an action in a COUNTRY DANCE in
which partners pass each other back to back
doss¹ /dɒs||dɑːs/ n [S] slang, especially BrE a short sleep: to have
a doss
doss² v
doss down phr v [I] slang, especially BrE to lie down to sleep,
especially not in a proper bed or one's usual place: It was too
late to go home, so I dossed down on their floor.