gate

1
[ geyt ]
See synonyms for: gategatedgatesgating on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. a movable barrier, usually on hinges, closing an opening in a fence, wall, or other enclosure.

  2. an opening permitting passage through an enclosure.

  1. a tower, architectural setting, etc., for defending or adorning such an opening or for providing a monumental entrance to a street, park, etc.: the gates of the walled city;the palace gate.

  2. any means of access or entrance: The gate to stardom is talent.

  3. a mountain pass.

  4. any movable barrier, as at a tollbooth or a road or railroad crossing.

  5. a gateway or passageway in a passenger terminal or pier that leads to a place for boarding a train, plane, or ship.

  6. a sliding barrier for regulating the passage of water, steam, or the like, as in a dam or pipe; valve.

  7. Skiing.

    • an obstacle in a slalom race, consisting of two upright poles anchored in the snow a certain distance apart.

    • the opening between these poles, through which a competitor in a slalom race must ski.

  8. the total number of persons who pay for admission to an athletic contest, a performance, an exhibition, etc.

  9. the total receipts from such admissions.

  10. Cell Biology. a temporary channel in a cell membrane through which substances diffuse into or out of a cell.

  11. Movies. film gate.

  12. a sash or frame for a saw or gang of saws.

  13. Metallurgy.

    • Also called ingate . a channel or opening in a mold through which molten metal is poured into the mold cavity.

    • the waste metal left in such a channel after hardening.

  14. Electronics.

    • a signal that makes an electronic circuit operative or inoperative either for a certain time interval or until another signal is received.

    • Also called logic gate . a circuit with one output that is activated only by certain combinations of two or more inputs.

verb (used with object),gat·ed, gat·ing.
  1. (at British universities) to punish by confining to the college grounds.

  2. Electronics.

    • to control the operation of (an electronic device) by means of a gate.

    • to select the parts of (a wave signal) that are within a certain range of amplitude or within certain time intervals.

verb (used without object),gat·ed, gat·ing.
  1. Metallurgy. to make or use a gate.

Idioms about gate

  1. get the gate, Slang. to be dismissed, sent away, or rejected.

  2. give (someone) the gate, Slang.

    • to reject (a person), as one's fiancé, lover, or friend.

    • to dismiss from one's employ: They gave him the gate because he was caught stealing.

Origin of gate

1
First recorded before 900; Middle English gat, gate, geat, Old English geat (plural gatu ); cognate with Low German, Dutch gat “hole, breach”; cf. gate2

Words that may be confused with gate

Words Nearby gate

Other definitions for gate (2 of 3)

gate2
[ geyt ]

noun
  1. Archaic. a path; way.

  2. North England and Scot.. habitual manner or way of acting.

Origin of gate

2
First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English gate, gat, gata, from Old Norse gata “path, way, road,” Old High German gazza, German Gasse “lane, alley”; perhaps akin to Old English geat gate1; cf. gat3

Other definitions for -gate (3 of 3)

-gate

  1. a combining form extracted from Watergate, occurring as the final element in journalistic coinages, usually nonce words, that name scandals resulting from concealed crime or other alleged improprieties in government or business: Koreagate.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use gate in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for gate (1 of 4)

gate1

/ (ɡeɪt) /


noun
  1. a movable barrier, usually hinged, for closing an opening in a wall, fence, etc

  2. an opening to allow passage into or out of an enclosed place

  1. any means of entrance or access

  2. a mountain pass or gap, esp one providing entry into another country or region

    • the number of people admitted to a sporting event or entertainment

    • the total entrance money received from them

  3. (in a large airport) any of the numbered exits leading to the airfield or aircraft: passengers for Paris should proceed to gate 14

  4. horse racing short for starting gate

  5. electronics

    • a logic circuit having one or more input terminals and one output terminal, the output being switched between two voltage levels determined by the combination of input signals

    • a circuit used in radar that allows only a fraction of the input signal to pass

  6. the electrode region or regions in a field-effect transistor that is biased to control the conductivity of the channel between the source and drain

  7. a component in a motion-picture camera or projector that holds each frame flat and momentarily stationary behind the lens

  8. a slotted metal frame that controls the positions of the gear lever in a motor vehicle

  9. rowing a hinged clasp to prevent the oar from jumping out of a rowlock

  10. a frame surrounding the blade or blades of a saw

verb(tr)
  1. to provide with a gate or gates

  2. British to restrict (a student) to the school or college grounds as a punishment

  1. to select (part of a waveform) in terms of amplitude or time

Origin of gate

1
Old English geat; related to Old Frisian jet opening, Old Norse gat opening, passage

Derived forms of gate

  • gateless, adjective
  • gatelike, adjective

British Dictionary definitions for gate (2 of 4)

gate2

/ (ɡeɪt) /


noundialect
  1. the channels by which molten metal is poured into a mould

  2. the metal that solidifies in such channels

Origin of gate

2
C17: probably related to Old English gyte a pouring out, geotan to pour

British Dictionary definitions for gate (3 of 4)

gate3

/ (ɡeɪt) /


nounScot and Northern English dialect
  1. a way, road, street, or path

  2. a way or method of doing something

Origin of gate

3
C13: from Old Norse gata path; related to Old High German gazza road, street

British Dictionary definitions for -gate (4 of 4)

-gate

n combining form
  1. indicating a person or thing that has been the cause of, or is associated with, a public scandal: Irangate; Camillagate

Origin of -gate

4
C20: on the analogy of Watergate

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with gate

gate

see crash the gate; give someone the air (gate).

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.