gatekeep
Americanverb (used with or without object)
Etymology
Origin of gatekeep
First recorded in 1960–65; gate 1 ( def. ) + keep ( def. )
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
“If you gatekeep people from accessing, then you’re creating an uneven playing field.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 14, 2026
"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
He reassured her that being undocumented did not gatekeep someone from belonging.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2025
Mothers shouldn't feel the need to gatekeep, the fear that not doing so will negatively impact their children.
From Salon ● Mar. 13, 2022
The academics have argued that such a stance allows the game industry to gatekeep which titles are made available or preserved, effectively limiting the study of gaming’s history.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 12, 2022
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
AI experts and users expressed frustration, accusing Anthropic of gatekeeping and blocking benign topics like biology, chemistry and mathematics.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026
The Gymkhana is expensive to join, but access has long been controlled more by gatekeeping than price.
From BBC ● May 25, 2026
The evening could’ve kept going — Hampton, Mays and Robinson had so much to say about an industry that is still widely misunderstood and filled with gatekeeping.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 18, 2026
Among the many quotes Ross left with his audience is one that dismantles intimidating concepts about natural ability, the kind of artistic gatekeeping we often impose on ourselves.
From Salon ● May 2, 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
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
