See Also: doorstep(dictionary)
doorstep 1, noun(dictionary)
doorstep 2, verb(dictionary)

doorstep (iou)



doorstep noun, adjective, & verb. E19.
[from DOOR + STEP noun1.]
A. noun.
A step outside a (usu. outer) door, by which the threshold is raised above the level of the ground. E19.
on one's doorstep, on the doorstep fig. very close to one.
A thick slice of bread. slang. L19.
b. attrib. or as adjective. Door-to-door; brought or made to people in their own homes. E20.
Modern Law Review He had foolishly signed a three-year magazine subscription contract with a doorstep salesman. Times Literary Supplement Doorstep jobs like delivering milk and selling insurance. Times Doorstep deliveries are losing ground to shop sales.
C. verb. Infl. -pp-.
verb intrans. Go from door to door selling, canvassing, etc. Earliest as doorstepping verbal noun. E20.
verb trans. Leave (a child) in the care of someone else. M20.
verb trans. & intrans. Call on or wait on the doorstep for (a person) without invitation or arrangement. L20.
Guardian The 'frightful men' from that newspaper who doorstepped her.
doorstepper noun a person who doorsteps L20.