gate
gate Lexical Profile
gate Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A hinged barrier used to close an opening in a wall, fence, or hedge.
"She closed the wooden gate carefully behind her so the dog could not escape the yard."
An entrance or exit in an airport terminal where passengers wait to board or disembark from a flight.
"The flight to Chicago is now boarding at gate 14."
The total number of paying spectators at a sporting event, or the total money taken from ticket sales.
"The championship match drew a record gate of over eighty thousand fans."
• verb
To control the passage of an audio signal using an electronic threshold processor.
"The audio engineer decided to gate the snare drum to eliminate background bleed from the cymbals."
British To confine a student to the grounds of an educational institution as a punishment.
"The headmaster decided to gate the students for an entire week following the late-night disturbance."
Word Nuance & Usage
The noun 'gate' (a hinged barrier) is frequently confused with its homophone 'gait', which refers to a person's or animal's manner of walking.
• Rhymes for gate
Word Origin & Etymology
From Old English 'gatu', the plural of 'geat' meaning 'door, gate, or opening', of Germanic origin. It is related to Old Norse 'gat' meaning 'hole'.
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.