doorstop

[dawr-stop, dohr-] /ˈdɔrˌstɒp, ˈdoʊr-/
noun
1.
a device for holding a door open, as a wedge or small weight.
2.
Also called slamming stile, stop. (in a doorframe) a strip or projecting surface against which the door closes.
3.
a device for preventing a door from striking a wall or an object on a wall, as a small rubber-covered projection.
Origin
1870-75, Americanism; door + stop
Examples from the web for doorstop
  • It is daunting in its resemblance to a giant doorstop.
  • You'd get as much value from this book if you used it as a doorstop.
  • And without the right software, the dongle is a mindless doorstop.
  • doorstop biographies nearly always get mired in chronology and minutiae.
  • There is no doubt that there are many ways common and mysterious to use a book, from reading to doorstop.
  • We found an apparently injured pigeon on our doorstop and have been caring for it.
  • Measuring the clear opening from the face of the doorstop on the frame to the face of the open door.
  • At the moment, air exchange is permitted by a rubber doorstop in the sliding door channel.
  • The remaining four were rescheduled due to a shortage of certified doorstop carriers.
British Dictionary definitions for doorstop

doorstop

/ˈdɔːˌstɒp/
noun
1.
a heavy object, wedge, or other device which prevents an open door from moving
2.
a projecting piece of rubber, etc, fixed to the floor to stop a door from striking a wall
3.
(informal) a very thick book
doorstop in Technology


Used to describe equipment that is non-functional and halfway expected to remain so, especially obsolete equipment kept around for political reasons or ostensibly as a backup. "When we get another Wyse-50 in here, that ADM 3 will turn into a doorstop."
Compare boat anchor.
[Jargon File]

Encyclopedia Article for doorstop

usually decorative and invariably heavy object used to prevent doors from swinging shut. Doorstops came into use about 1775 following the introduction of the rising butt, a type of hinge designed to close a door automatically. Many stops took the form of famous persons, such as Napoleon, Shakespeare, Wellington, Gladstone, and Disraeli. Animal forms were also popular

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