floodgate

[ fluhd-geyt ]
/ ˈflʌdˌgeɪt /

noun

Civil Engineering. a gate designed to regulate the flow of water.
anything serving to control the indiscriminate flow or passage of something.

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body of land completely surrounded by water
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Origin of floodgate

Middle English word dating back to 1175–1225; see origin at flood, gate1

Words nearby floodgate

flood plain, flood tide, flood wall, flooded gum, flooders, floodgate, flooding, floodlight, floodlight projector, floodplain, floodwater
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for floodgate

British Dictionary definitions for floodgate

floodgate
/ (ˈflʌdˌɡeɪt) /

noun

Also called: head gate, water gate a gate in a sluice that is used to control the flow of waterSee also sluicegate
(often plural) a control or barrier against an outpouring or flowto open the floodgates to immigration
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