🗓️ Idiom: Get Your Foot in the Door (verb)
💬 Meaning
- To make a small start that could lead to bigger opportunities.
- To get an initial chance in a company or industry.
🧠 Example Sentences
- He took an internship to get his foot in the door at the law firm.
- She joined a startup to get her foot in the door of the tech industry.
- Volunteering can be a good way to get your foot in the door of a new career.
🏛️ Origin
This idiom likely comes from door-to-door sales in the 19th and 20th centuries. Salespeople would sometimes literally put a foot in the doorway to stop the door from closing, giving them a chance to present their pitch. Over time, the phrase came to mean gaining an initial opportunity that could lead to something bigger.
📝 Practice Exercises
1. Fill in the blank:
An entry-level job can help you _______ your foot in the door.
Answer
get
2. Multiple choice:
What does “get your foot in the door” mean?
a) To block a door with your foot
b) To start dancing
c) To gain an initial opportunity in a company or field
Answer
c) To gain an initial opportunity in a company or field
3. Change the sentence using “get your foot in the door”:
“She took a temporary role to start her career in marketing.”
Answer
She took a temporary role to get her foot in the door in marketing.
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Rob is a CELTA qualified English teacher with 15 years of international experience. He has a BSc and PGDip from Loughborough and St Andrews universities in the UK. He has taught in Thailand and Saudi Arabia and now works with professionals worldwide.
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