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Glite Dictionary
to leave one's ego at the door

to leave one's ego at the door

7.4
To put aside your pride to work well with others
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : dejar el ego en la puerta
  • The coach emphasized that players must leave their egos at the door if they want to achieve success together.

Examples

  • L: Do leave your ego at the door

    Academic text (2009)

  • When working on a team project, it's essential to leave one's ego at the door to ensure collaboration and unity.

  • In negotiations, it's important to leave your ego at the door to find common ground and reach an agreement.

Synonyms

to stay humble
vsto leave one's ego at the door
1 3.6

Keep being modest and not become proud when you do well

sets pride aside briefly before a cooperative situation

How Humble

to leave one's ego at the door
  • Informal
7.4
to check yourself
  • Informal
7 7.5

Surface Forms

leave one's ego at the door infinitive
leaving one's ego at the door present participle
leaves one's ego at the door third person singular
left one's ego at the door past
left one's ego at the door past participle

Morphology

leave + one + ego + at + the + door

The literal words 'leave' and 'ego' plus the image of a 'door' give a clear clue that one should abandon pride before entering a situation, so a learner who knows the constituents can often infer the general sense. However, the expression relies on a conventionalized spatial metaphor (door as a boundary) and pragmatic convention, so the precise pragmatic nuance is not fully predictable from the parts alone.

Etymology

The idiom leave one's ego at the door comes from the image of leaving your ego, your 'pride', at the door before you walk into a room or meeting. So it means to put aside 'pride' and be ready to listen and work with others.