opportunity does not knock until you build a door
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
You must take action to create your own chances
Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt
Cơ hội không đến cho đến khi bạn tạo ra cơ hội cho mình
Machine-translated — suggest a fix
Literally: a door as a means to access new possibilities
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Sources & notes
Listed on Wikipedia “List of proverbial phrases” (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-30; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “opportunity does not knock until you build a door” mean?
You must take action to create your own chances Literally: a door as a means to access new possibilities
Is “opportunity does not knock until you build a door” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.