gate

¹

[ geyt ]

noun

1. a movable barrier, usually on hinges, closing an opening in a fence, wall, or other enclosure.
2. an opening permitting passage through an enclosure.
3. a tower, architectural setting, etc., for defending or adorning such an opening or for providing a monumental entrance to a street, park, etc.:

   the gates of the walled city;

   the palace gate.

4. any means of access or entrance:

   The gate to stardom is talent.

5. a mountain pass.
6. any movable barrier, as at a tollbooth or a road or railroad crossing.
7. a gateway or passageway in a passenger terminal or pier that leads to a place for boarding a train, plane, or ship.
8. a sliding barrier for regulating the passage of water, steam, or the like, as in a dam or pipe; valve.
9. Skiing.
   1. an obstacle in a slalom race, consisting of two upright poles anchored in the snow a certain distance apart.
   2. the opening between these poles, through which a competitor in a slalom race must ski.
10. the total number of persons who pay for admission to an athletic contest, a performance, an exhibition, etc.
11. the total receipts from such admissions.
12. Cell Biology. a temporary channel in a cell membrane through which substances diffuse into or out of a cell.
13. Movies. film gate.
14. a sash or frame for a saw or gang of saws.
15. Metallurgy.
    1. Also called ingate. a channel or opening in a mold through which molten metal is poured into the mold cavity.
    2. the waste metal left in such a channel after hardening.
16. Electronics.
    1. a signal that makes an electronic circuit operative or inoperative either for a certain time interval or until another signal is received.
    2. Also called logic gate. a circuit with one output that is activated only by certain combinations of two or more inputs.

verb (used with object)

, gat·ed, gat·ing.

1. (at British universities) to punish by confining to the college grounds.
2. Electronics.
   1. to control the operation of (an electronic device) by means of a gate.
   2. to select the parts of (a wave signal) that are within a certain range of amplitude or within certain time intervals.

verb (used without object)

, gat·ed, gat·ing.

1. Metallurgy. to make or use a gate.

gate

²

[ geyt ]

noun

1. Archaic. a path; way.
2. North England and Scot.. habitual manner or way of acting.

-gate

³

1. a combining form extracted from Watergate, occurring as the final element in journalistic coinages, usually nonce words, that name scandals resulting from concealed crime or other alleged improprieties in government or business:

   Koreagate.

-gate

¹

combining form

1. indicating a person or thing that has been the cause of, or is associated with, a public scandal

   Camillagate

   Irangate

gate

²

/ ɡeɪt /

noun

1. a movable barrier, usually hinged, for closing an opening in a wall, fence, etc
2. an opening to allow passage into or out of an enclosed place
3. any means of entrance or access
4. a mountain pass or gap, esp one providing entry into another country or region
5. 1. the number of people admitted to a sporting event or entertainment
   2. the total entrance money received from them
6. (in a large airport) any of the numbered exits leading to the airfield or aircraft

   passengers for Paris should proceed to gate 14

7. See starting gate
   horse racing short for starting gate
8. electronics
   1. a logic circuit having one or more input terminals and one output terminal, the output being switched between two voltage levels determined by the combination of input signals
   2. a circuit used in radar that allows only a fraction of the input signal to pass
9. the electrode region or regions in a field-effect transistor that is biased to control the conductivity of the channel between the source and drain
10. a component in a motion-picture camera or projector that holds each frame flat and momentarily stationary behind the lens
11. a slotted metal frame that controls the positions of the gear lever in a motor vehicle
12. rowing a hinged clasp to prevent the oar from jumping out of a rowlock
13. a frame surrounding the blade or blades of a saw

verb

1. to provide with a gate or gates
2. to restrict (a student) to the school or college grounds as a punishment
3. to select (part of a waveform) in terms of amplitude or time

gate

³

/ ɡeɪt /

noun

1. the channels by which molten metal is poured into a mould
2. the metal that solidifies in such channels

gate

⁴

/ ɡeɪt /

noun

1. a way, road, street, or path
2. a way or method of doing something

Derived Forms

• ˈgateˌlike, adjective
• ˈgateless, adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of gate¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English gat, gate, geat, Old English geat (plural gatu ); cognate with Low German, Dutch gat “hole, breach”; gate ²

Origin of gate²

First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English gate, gat, gata, from Old Norse gata “path, way, road,” Old High German gazza, German Gasse “lane, alley”; perhaps akin to Old English geat gate ¹; gat ³

Word History and Origins

Origin of gate¹

C20: on the analogy of Watergate

Origin of gate²

Old English geat; related to Old Frisian jet opening, Old Norse gat opening, passage

Origin of gate³

C17: probably related to Old English gyte a pouring out, geotan to pour

Origin of gate⁴

C13: from Old Norse gata path; related to Old High German gazza road, street

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. get the gate, Slang. to be dismissed, sent away, or rejected.
2. give (someone) the gate, Slang.
   1. to reject (a person), as one's fiancé, lover, or friend.
   2. to dismiss from one's employ:

      They gave him the gate because he was caught stealing.

More idioms and phrases containing gate

see crash the gate ; give someone the air (gate) .

Example Sentences

Healthe concedes its entry gate may not be as critical as its 222 nm products focused on air decontamination, but says it a valuable part of its layered approach to disinfection.

From Fortune

One of the first major tech companies out of the gate with a questionably useful product is LG.

From Ars Technica

FinFET maintained fine control of current by surrounding the channel with a gate on three sides.

From Singularity Hub 

A transistor is “on” when the gate allows current to flow, and it’s off when no current flows.

From Singularity Hub 

If women’s soccer became popular and could attract those kinds of gates, that would take away from the men’s professional team.

From Freakonomics

The Florida GOP senator stormed out of the gate Wednesday in the highest of dudgeons.

From The Daily Beast

Said it was like speed dating because he was late after hitting every wrong gate on the lot.

From The Daily Beast

They dumped his body at the gate of a black cemetery—his head and right arm were gone.

From The Daily Beast

“We shoot at Sunset Gower Studios, and you can see the street through the gate,” he says.

From The Daily Beast

In earlier centuries academies existed to decide what was art, while today we have gallerists and critics at the gate.

From The Daily Beast

Yet he feared to meet her eyes, and was glad of a saluting sepoy who swaggered jauntily past the open gate.

From Project Gutenberg

At once the sepoys at the Kashmir Gate fired a volley at the nearest officers, of whom three fell dead.

From Project Gutenberg

First through the gate came a company of Korean foot-soldiers, in blue uniforms.

From Project Gutenberg

Bride and bridegroom, accompanied by the weeping crowd, proceeded to the castle gate.

From Project Gutenberg

A rough track led to the gate, and Frank knocked loudly on an iron-studded door.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• bar
• door
• doorway
• exit
• fence
• port