doormat
/ˈdɔɹˌmæt/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 2.65 in modern English
10
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Someone who habitually yields to others' demands or mistreatment, failing to assert their own rights or interests.
Derogatory
Example Sentences
- "Wipe your shoes on the doormat before you start plodding around in the house."
- "Mr. Simpson adds that the station at Stanmore appears practically unchanged from the time of its opening, even to the L.N.W.R. rubber doormat, which "shows no signs of wearing out.""
- "Dimple glanced at an expensive-looking doormat with the words ‘LOSE THE SHOES’ woven into it and wondered why anyone would bother spending so much money on something people were going to wipe their feet on."
- "He's such a doormat, he lets everyone walk all over him."
- "If you flipped through certain magazines at this time you could be forgiven for thinking that there was no right way to be a woman, only wrong ones — bimbo or frump, slut or prude, shrew or doormat."
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *dʰwer-der. Proto-Germanic *durz Proto-West Germanic *dur Old English duru Middle English dore English door Old English meatte Middle English matte English mat English doormat From door + mat.
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈdɔɹˌmæt/
- British English: /ˈdɔːˌmæt/