gatekeeper
Americannoun
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gatekeepers
plural
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a person in charge of a gate, usually to identify, count, supervise, etc., the traffic that flows through it.
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a person or thing that controls access, as to information, often acting as an arbiter of quality or legitimacy: An open internet allows innovators to bypass traditional gatekeepers and promote their work on its own merit.
Treating office gatekeepers with respect will improve your chances of scheduling a face-to-face meeting or job interview.
An open internet allows innovators to bypass traditional gatekeepers and promote their work on its own merit.
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a guardian; monitor.
the gatekeepers of Western culture.
noun
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a person who has charge of a gate and controls who may pass through it
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any of several Eurasian butterflies of the genus Pyronia, esp P. tithonus, having brown-bordered orange wings with a black-and-white eyespot on each forewing: family Satyridae
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a manager in a large organization who controls the flow of information, esp to parent and subsidiary companies
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of gatekeeper
First recorded in 1565–75; in 1905–10 gatekeeper for defs. 2, 3; gate 1 + keeper
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:
Google owner Alphabet is a gatekeeper under the DMA, a designation that requires it to take extra steps to ensure it isn’t stifling competition.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026
In findings published in Science Advances, the team showed that the MPS acts as a physical gatekeeper for nearly every major type of endocytosis.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 15, 2026
"It confirms the designation of Apple as a gatekeeper in relation to the App Store and iOS."
From Barron's ● Jul. 8, 2026
"The visa system is the invisible gatekeeper of the World Cup," Atallah says.
From BBC ● Jun. 7, 2026
The scarred, one- eyed man was Kilvin’s gatekeeper.
From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss
“Circus performers are not gatekeepers in any way,” she notes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026
And while I understand not wanting to give fashion gatekeepers the benefit of the doubt, it’s positively stupefying to me that anyone could read that and think, “This is a huge mistake.”
From Salon ● Sep. 5, 2026
It urged cinemas to "act as gatekeepers for the audience, and clearly reject films that are obviously not up to standard instead of letting films like Niu Lai run rampant".
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026
They are the gatekeepers for Indian Creek Country Club and don’t offer membership to just anyone who has struck it rich.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
The seasons, the gatekeepers of Olympus, stood waiting to fling the doors wide.
From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
