foot in the door

phrase

: the initial step toward a goal

He took a job as an administrative assistant to get his foot in the door.

Examples of foot in the door in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The stem cell industry sees the FDA’s tentative embrace of peptides as its chance to get a foot in the door — and bring stem cells from the grey market to millions of Americans. — Margaret Manto, STAT, 5 Oct. 2026

Because of the way that people make money on the internet, music is only one way to get your foot in the door. — Devon Ivie, Vulture, 25 Sep. 2026

The proverbial foot in the door between TCU Press and the Phillips family came a few years ago, when literary agent Jim Donovan contacted the department about an unpublished memoir on the author. — Brayden Garcia, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 22 Sep. 2026

Regime insiders are positioned to gain the most, and MIPYME owners have a foot in the door. — Will Freeman, Foreign Affairs, 17 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1940, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for foot in the door

• conquistador
• covenantor
• forevermore
• hereinbefore
• kinetochore
• kwashiorkor
• abhor
• abor
• adore
• afore
• ardour
• ashore