when one door closes, another opens

proverb

When one opportunity is lost, another opportunity soon becomes available.

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Meanings

proverb

alternative as one door closes, another opens · alternative when one door closes, another door opens · alternative when one door closes, another one opens · alternative when one door shuts, another opens

  1. When one opportunity is lost, another opportunity soon becomes available.

    "When one door closes, another opens," the former Stamps president mused yesterday after being fired by the team's new ownership group.

    2005 January 14, Dan Toth, “'I've had a great run': Rooke 'very emotional' after firing”, in Calgary Sun, Canada, retrieved 06 May 2013
    2 more examples

    An excellent reason for absenting himself from school was thus denied to Master Hardy; but it has been well said that when one door closes another opens, and to his great satisfaction the old servant, who had been in poor health for some time, suddenly took to her bed and required his undivided attention.

    1902, W. W. Jacobs, chapter 4, in At Sunwich Portt

    When one door closes, another opens: those eliminated in the early rounds of the Spingold Knockout in Las Vegas, Nev., in August were able to shoot for the national men's and women's Swiss team events.

    1985 October 4, Alan Truscott, “Bridge: New York Area Team Finds A Silver Lining in Its Cloud”, in New York Times, retrieved 06 May 2013

Translations

Finnish kun yksi ovi sulkeutuu, toinen avautuu
  • kun yksi ovi sulkeutuu, toinen avautuuTranslations
Italian quando si chiude una porta si apre un portone
  • quando si chiude una porta si apre un portoneTranslations
Polish kiedy jedne drzwi się zamykają, drugie się otwierają
  • kiedy jedne drzwi się zamykają, drugie się otwierająTranslations
Cite this entry
APA

when one door closes, another opens. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/when%20one%20door%20closes%2C%20another%20opens

MLA

“when one door closes, another opens.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/when%20one%20door%20closes%2C%20another%20opens. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “when one door closes, another opens,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/when%20one%20door%20closes%2C%20another%20opens.

Source: when one door closes, another opens on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.