knock on the door of

English

Alternative forms

• knock at the door of

Verb

knock on the door of (third-person singular simple present knocks on the door of, present participle knocking on the door of, simple past and past participle knocked on the door of)

1. To ask for entrance or admission into.

   Every year, thousands of students knock on the door of Ivy League universities.

2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see knock,‎ on,‎ the,‎ door,‎ of.
   • 1981, Men at Work, “Who Can It Be Now?”, in Business as Usual:

     Who can it be knocking at my door?
     Go away, don't come 'round here no more
     Can't you see that it's late at night?
     I'm very tired and I'm not feeling right

Derived terms

• knocking on heaven's door

Further reading

• “knock on the door of”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• “knock on the door of something”, in Collins English Dictionary.