gatekeeper
Americannoun
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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
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.
Boshra married the son of Khamanei's longstanding gatekeeper and chief of staff, the cleric Mohammad Mohammadi Golpayegani.
From Barron's • Mar. 13, 2026
Along with Ticketmaster, which it purchased in 2010, Live Nation puts on concerts, sells tickets and owns venues, serving multiple roles that US regulators said had turned it into a "gatekeeper" for the industry.
From BBC • Feb. 19, 2026
China used to be a growth market for Hollywood but is now better understood as a gatekeeper — a market that can determine whether a movie becomes a true global phenomenon.
From MarketWatch • Dec. 31, 2025
Mr. Howard has come to biography writing after a distinguished career in publishing at Doubleday Books, and he discourses with knowledge and zeal about Cowley’s second act as a revivalist and gatekeeper.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 7, 2025
At last Frodo spoke to Pippin and Sam: ‘I ought to have guessed it from the way the gatekeeper greeted us,’ he said.
From "The Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R. Tolkien
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.
