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

Physical infrastructure such as computing and power remain gating factors to the development of AI, and adoption of enterprise technology is a very slow process.

From MarketWatch • Feb. 24, 2026

When they increased the pore's rigidity, gating stopped completely, confirming that structural flexibility is key to this phenomenon.

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

There will, indeed, for the penalty is not "crossing at the buttery," nor "gating," but—excommunication!

From Oxford by Lang, Andrew