gating

American  

[gey-ting] / ˈgeɪ tɪŋ /

noun

1. the act or process of controlling the passage or pathway of something.

2. Cell Biology. the process by which a channel in a cell membrane opens or closes.

3. Metallurgy. a system for casting metal involving a mold with a channel or opening into which the molten metal is poured.

4. Electronics. the process of controlling the operation of an electronic device by means of a gate, a signal that makes an electronic circuit operative or inoperative either for a certain time interval or until another signal is received.

5. (at British universities) a punishment in which a student is confined to the college grounds.

   The penalty for being out after hours will be gating for up to a month.

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Etymology

Origin of gating

First recorded in 1945–50; gat(e) ¹ + -ing ¹

Example Sentences

The platform has “age gating requirements,” she said, and its marketing isn’t focused specifically on college students.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 6, 2026

“A couple of years ago, it was all about the chips being the gating factor,” Matthew Sallee, head of investments at Tortoise Capital, told MarketWatch.

From MarketWatch • Jan. 10, 2026

This approach allowed them to distinguish rectification, which occurs quickly, from gating, which develops more slowly.

From Science Daily • Nov. 11, 2025

“We estimate a potential for greater than $10 incremental earnings per share in the base case over the next three years, with capacity constraints the gating factor,” Zakaria wrote.

From Barron's • Oct. 14, 2025

Drysdale sent out his scout to order his punishment as he might have ordered a waistcoat, presented old Copas with a half-sovereign, and then dismissed punishment and gating from his mind.

From Tom Brown at Oxford by Hughes, Thomas