Meanings
at death's door1
alternative at Death's door
- idiomaticAbout to die; in a life-threatening state of health.
One of my Polynesian sailors lay at death's door with blackwater fever.
1913 August, Jack London, chapter XXXII, in John Barleycorn, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC, page 2903 more examples
The minstrel woman who left the Castle yesterday has spread the report everywhere, that the Duke of Rothsay is murdered, or at death's door.
1828 May 15, [Walter Scott], chapter IX, in Chronicles of the Canongate. Second Series. […] (The Fair Maid of Perth), volume III, Edinburgh: […] [Ballantyne and Co.] for Cadell and Co.; London: Simpkin and Marshall, →OCLC, page 235And the "events" were not all on the board. It may help the reader to know that K. O. Mott-Smith was literally at death's door in mid-game. His double survival prompted him to send us the game and comments.
1961 May, “Postal Games”, in Chess ReviewClearly, a business with $26 billion in cash reserves isn't exactly at death's door.
2008 June 29, Josh Quittner, “Bill Gates: PC Genius, Internet Fool”, in TimeSynonyms: knocking on heaven's door, on one's deathbed, in extremis
at Death's door2
- alternativenot comparableAlternative spelling of at death's door.
Synonyms & antonyms
prepositional phraseAbout to die; in a life-threatening state of health.
Translations
Catalan a les portes de la mort
- a les portes de la mortabout to die
Chinese Mandarin 瀕臨死亡 /濒临死亡
- 瀕臨死亡 /濒临死亡 (bīnlín sǐwáng)about to die
Finnish kuolemaisillaan, kuoleman kielissä
- kuolemaisillaanabout to die
- kuoleman kielissäabout to die
French aux portes de la mort, à l'agonie
- aux portes de la mortabout to die
- à l'agonieabout to die
- à l'article de la mortabout to die
German an der Schwelle des Todes
- an der Schwelle des Todesabout to die
Icelandic dauðvona, liggja fyrir dauðanum
- dauðvonaabout to die
- liggja fyrir dauðanumabout to die
- vera langt leiddurabout to die
- vera í andarslitrunumabout to die
- berja nestiðabout to die
Irish ar deireadh
- ar deireadhabout to die
Italian al capolinea, al lumicino
- al capolineaabout to die
- al lumicinoabout to die
Latin moribundus, capulāris
- moribundusabout to die
- capulārisabout to die
Māori whakahemohemo
- whakahemohemoabout to die
Polish jedną nogą w grobie, na łożu śmierci
- jedną nogą w grobieabout to die
- na łożu śmierciabout to die
- u progu śmierciabout to die
Portuguese às portas da morte, nas portas da morte
- às portas da morteabout to die
- nas portas da morteabout to die
- no bico do corvoabout to die
Romanian cu un picior în groapă, în pragul morții
- cu un picior în groapăabout to die
- în pragul morțiiabout to die
- pe moarteabout to die
Russian при́ сме́рти, на сме́ртном одре́
- при́ сме́рти (prí smérti)about to die
- на сме́ртном одре́ (na smértnom odré)about to die
- одно́й ного́й в моги́ле (odnój nogój v mogíle)about to die
- на краю́ гро́ба (na krajú gróba)about to die
Spanish a las últimas
- a las últimasabout to die
Turkish ölümün eşiğinde
- ölümün eşiğindeabout to die
Welsh wrth borth marwolaeth
- wrth borth marwolaethabout to die
Cite this entry
at death's door. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/at%20death's%20door
“at death's door.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/at%20death's%20door. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “at death's door,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/at%20death's%20door.
Source: at death's door on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.