portcullis
(especially in medieval castles) a strong grating, as of iron, made to slide along vertical grooves at the sides of a gateway of a fortified place and let down to prevent passage.
Origin of portcullis
1Words Nearby portcullis
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use portcullis in a sentence
The drawbridge is raised and the portcullis closed, so that a thieving Redskin would find it a hard matter to make his way in.
In the Wilds of Florida | W.H.G. KingstonThey suddenly let down the portcullis, which they had raised somewhat by pulleys, and thus closed up the gateway.
The Histories of Polybius, Vol. II (of 2) | PolybiusThe passage is vaulted, and has massive doors of oak studded with iron; formerly there was also a portcullis.
Bell's Cathedrals: The Cathedral Church of Carlisle | C. King EleyThe portcullis was suddenly dropped; Copeland, mistaken for his master, remained a prisoner.
Female Warriors, Vol. I (of 2) | Ellen C. ClaytonThe hair rose on Claude's head, but he set his teeth; though the man died, though he died, the portcullis must fall!
The Long Night | Stanley Weyman
British Dictionary definitions for portcullis
/ (pɔːtˈkʌlɪs) /
an iron or wooden grating suspended vertically in grooves in the gateway of a castle or fortified town and able to be lowered so as to bar the entrance
Origin of portcullis
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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