open door
Americannoun
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the policy of admitting people of all nationalities or ethnic groups to a country upon equal terms, as for immigration.
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the policy or practice of trading with all nations on an equal basis.
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admission or access; unrestricted opportunity.
His experience had given him an open door to success in his field.
noun
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a policy or practice by which a nation grants opportunities for trade to all other nations equally
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free and unrestricted admission
adjective
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open to all; accessible
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(in industrial relations) designating a policy of management being prepared to talk to workers in the office at any time
Other Word Forms
- open-door adjective
Etymology
Origin of open door
First recorded in 1520–30
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“We’re asking for accessibility, not an open door to cause harm.”
From Salon
"It's important we play the players based on their skillsets and that they fit into our system. Our job is to support them and open doors whenever we can."
From BBC
He apparently accompanied Mountbatten-Windsor on some of his international, taxpayer-funded trips as a trade envoy, using his Chinese connections to open doors.
From BBC
“That doesn’t suddenly make this market affordable for everyone, but it does crack open doors that had firmly shut when rates peaked.”
From MarketWatch
Above its huge open doors was a sign in big blue letters that said, “Eubanks Wagon Yard—Fifty Cents for Teams—Twenty-five Cents for Feed.”
From Literature
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.