Definition of "doorjamb" [doorjamb]

• Either of the two vertical pieces framing a doorway and supporting the lintel. Also called doorpost. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "In 1987 they finally found the narrow tomb entrance; on the doorjamb was the cartouche of Ramses II that Burton had noted in his journal."
• "The doorjamb was his ally; caught in the force of the blow, Nicholas's knee would shatter like crystal."
• "But behind the sitter, blurred from movement, a naked girl swings from the doorjamb, a wild apparition at odds with the placidity of the foreground."