gatekeep

American  

[gayt-keep] / ˈgeɪtˌkip /

verb (used with or without object)

gatekept, gatekeeping

1. to control access to something, or determine the legitimacy of people’s claims to a particular status, by unilaterally imposing criteria for acceptance.

   We gatekeep the counseling profession at the university level—anyone not making the grade is dropped from the program.

   I can't believe you’re trying to gatekeep depression based on your own symptoms.

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Etymology

Origin of gatekeep

First recorded in 1960–65; gate ¹ ( def. ) + keep ( def. )

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

gatekeep gatekeeping gatekept

“If you gatekeep people from accessing, then you’re creating an uneven playing field.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 14, 2026

I never really thought, “Oh I’m gonna gatekeep this because one day I’m going to make a documentary.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 12, 2025

"AI is here to stay, to gatekeep its capability would be against the beliefs I hold dear about art," he said.

From BBC ● Nov. 11, 2025

At its worst, reality TV teaches us how we gatekeep who gets to be seen as legitimate — and who gets to be seen at all.

From Salon ● Nov. 30, 2023

As a gay White man, he didn’t want to gatekeep, even as he languished on “every wait list.”

From Washington Post ● Feb. 11, 2023

Others complained that “GTA 6” is gatekeeping the game’s core features, such as specific customizations and missions, behind the $20 upgrade.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 25, 2026

Submissions, limited to 2,500 words, will undergo a simple merit review rather than endless rounds of gatekeeping.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 27, 2026

The Gymkhana is expensive to join, but access has long been controlled more by gatekeeping than price.

From BBC ● May 25, 2026

But in many cases, saving the children from corruption is more about gatekeeping access to information and platforms that allow young people to express themselves and connect with new communities.

From Salon ● Apr. 16, 2026

“Just trying to break free of the algorithm gods gatekeeping art.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 13, 2026

The average person shouldn’t have to fret that bold ideas and wondrous cinematic visions are being gatekept from them by the people in a boardroom clinging to a conservative agenda.

From Salon ● Mar. 6, 2026

“To ask themselves, where can art exist? Can I just do it myself? And can I take agency over this process that’s so heavily gatekept most of the time.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 26, 2023

The problem is that most financial institutions have gatekept this info and prevented us from having power and choices.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 30, 2022

Even though they had the best phone in this very early category, they were gatekept out of the market in various ways, but it was still popular.

From The Verge ● Nov. 4, 2021

The clientele there, and in New York, are self-selecting, and the Ace is less a gatekept democracy than an anarcho-libertarian paradise.

From New York Times ● Jan. 28, 2011

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