Doorstop

Doorstop

A doorstop (also door stopper or door stop) is an object or device used to hold a door open or closed, or to prevent a door from opening too widely. Alternatively, a doorstop can be a thin slat built inside a door frame to prevent a door from swinging through when closed.

Contents

Usage

Holding doors open

A door may be opened by a door stop which is simply a heavy solid object, such as a rubber, placed in the path of the door. These stops are predominantly improvised. Historically, lead bricks have been popular choices when available. However, as the toxic nature of lead has been revealed, this use has been strongly discouraged.

Another method is to use a door stop which is a small wedge of wood, rubber, plastic, cotton or another material. Manufactured wedges of these materials are commonly available. The wedge is kicked into position and the downward force of the door, now jammed upwards onto the doorstop, provides enough static friction to keep it motionless.

A third strategy is to equip the door itself with a stopping mechanism. In this case, a short metal bar capped with rubber, or another high friction material, is attached to a hinge near the bottom of the door opposite the door hinge and on the side of the door which is in the direction that it closes. When the door is to be kept open, the bar is swung down so that the rubber end touches the floor. In this configuration, further movement of the door towards being closed increases the force on the rubber end, thereby increasing the frictional force which opposes the movement. When the door is to be closed, the stop is released by pushing the door slightly more open which releases the stop and allows it to be flipped upwards. A newer version of equipping the door with the stopping mechanism is to attach a magnet to the bottom of the door on the side which opens outward which then latches onto another magnet or magnetic material on the wall or a small hub on the floor. The magnet must be strong enough to hold the weight of the door, but weak enough to be easily detached from the wall or hub.

Preventing damage by doors

Another type of door stop is used to prevent doors from opening too far and damaging nearby walls. In this case a rubber cylinder or dome, or a rod or block of rubber-tipped metal, wood or plastic, is screwed into the wall or the floor in the path of the door. If it is attached to the wall it may be either a few inches above the ground, or at such a height as to meet the doorknob. A short wall-attached doorstop, usually a rubber dome or cylinder, is sometimes called a wall bumper.

On occasion, stops are used that are fitted at the midpoint of the door, as part of the central door-hinge. Such a stop is known as a "hinge stop".

Dialect usage

In various British English dialects including those in the south-west, north-east and north-west of England, the word "doorstop" is cognate with "doorstep" in standard English, being derived from door + stoop.


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • doorstop — door stop , n. (Carp.) The block or strip of wood or similar material which stops, at the right place, the shutting of a door; any object used to stop open doors from moving. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • doorstop — (also doorstopper) ► NOUN ▪ an object that keeps a door open or in place …   English terms dictionary

  • doorstop — [dôr′stäp΄] n. 1. a device used to hold a door open at a desired position or prevent it from closing too forcibly or slamming against a wall 2. a thin wooden strip affixed to a frame of a doorway, against which the door closes …   English World dictionary

  • doorstop — UK [ˈdɔː(r)ˌstɒp] / US [ˈdɔrˌstɑp] noun [countable] Word forms doorstop : singular doorstop plural doorstops 1) a heavy object that you put against a door to keep it open 2) a piece of rubber or plastic fixed to a wall that stops a door hitting… …   English dictionary

  • doorstop — [[t]dɔ͟ː(r)stɒp[/t]] doorstops N COUNT A doorstop is a heavy object that you use to keep a door open …   English dictionary

  • doorstop — noun Date: 1878 1. a usually rubber tipped device attached to a wall or floor to prevent damaging contact between an opened door and the wall 2. a device (as a wedge or weight) for holding a door open …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • doorstop — /dawr stop , dohr /, n. 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… …   Universalium

  • doorstop — noun a) Any device or object used to halt the motion of a door, as a large or heavy object, a wedge, or some piece of hardware fixed to the floor, door or wall. b) A thick sandwich …   Wiktionary

  • doorstop — Synonyms and related words: arrest, bearing rein, bit, brake, chain, check, checkrein, chock, clog, countercheck, curb, curb bit, damper, drag, drag sail, drift anchor, drift sail, drogue, fetter, holdback, martingale, pelham, remora, scotch, sea …   Moby Thesaurus

  • doorstop — door|stop [ˈdo:stɔp US ˈdo:rsta:p ] n also door|stop|per [ ˌstɔpə US ˌsta:pər] BrE 1.) something you put under or against a door to keep it open 2.) a rubber object fastened to a wall to stop a door hitting it when it opens …   Dictionary of contemporary English

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