idiom · neutral
at death's door
UK/ət ˈdɛθs ˌdɔː(r)/US/ət ˈdɛθs ˌdɔr/at·DEATH'S·DOOR
speakingtask2
very ill and close to dying
Examples
“The old man was at death's door after the accident.”
“He was at death's door but intensive care saved him.”
“She fell ill and within days was at death's door.”
Band 8 sentence
“He was at death's door after the accident, but two weeks of intensive care saved his life.”
Collocations
- be at death's door after the operation
- nearly at death's door
Word family
be at death's door idiom/verb phrase
Common mistakes
at the death's door→at death's door
ở cửa của cái chết (dịch đen khi viết tiếng Việt)→at death's door = rất ốm, gần chết
Say it for a higher band
5very ill→6critically ill→7+at death's door
Synonyms
critically ill
Easily confused
seriously ill
“She was seriously ill after the crash.”
Related words
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In Health
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