at death's door
About to expire
At death's door describes someone who is extremely ill or injured and likely to die very soon.
The phrase evokes the image of standing at the threshold between life and death, about to cross over.
It can be used literally for someone in critical medical condition or hyperbolically for someone who feels terribly unwell.
She was at death's door for weeks before finally recovering.
I'm not at death's door—it's just a cold.
Near death, failing
- dyingCeasing to live
- palliativeOffering relief, not remedy
- end-stageFinal, irreversible phase
- hospiceTerminal illness comfort program
deathbed · last breath · fading · slipping away · terminal · critical condition · organ failure · life-support
Weak and ineffective
- enfeebledMade weak or feeble
- debilitatedMade weak or infirm
- infirmWeak in body
- witheredDried and shrunken
failing · declining · deteriorating · wasting away · skeletal · gaunt · bedridden · weakened
Critical boundary point
- precipiceSteep rock face
- edgeBoundary or sharpness
- knife-edgeCritically narrow margin
- imminentAbout to occur
dire · hanging by a thread · touch and go · narrow escape · close call · fighting for life · one foot in the grave · circling the drain
moribund
Near death, failing
- dyingCeasing to live
- palliativeOffering relief, not remedy
- end-stageFinal, irreversible phase
hospice · deathbed · last breath · fading · slipping away · terminal · critical condition · organ failure · life-support · intensive care
feeble
Weak and ineffective
- enfeebledMade weak or feeble
- debilitatedMade weak or infirm
- infirmWeak in body
withered · failing · declining · deteriorating · wasting away · skeletal · gaunt · bedridden · weakened · spent
brink
Critical boundary point
- precipiceSteep rock face
- edgeBoundary or sharpness
- knife-edgeCritically narrow margin
imminent · dire · hanging by a thread · touch and go · narrow escape · close call · fighting for life · one foot in the grave · circling the drain
at death's doorin the pink
Excellent health state
fit as a fiddle · hale and hearty · alive and well · healthy · robust
at death's doorfull of life
Energetic and animated
alive and kicking · vibrant · robust · thriving · vigorous
death, door, deaths, doors, dead, deadly, deathly, doorway, doorways