watergate
watergate Lexical Profile
watergate Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A major American political scandal of the early 1970s involving a break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington, D.C., and the subsequent cover-up by the administration of President Richard Nixon, or any similar political scandal involving abuse of power and concealment (usually capitalized).
"The investigative journalists uncovered a trail of secret payments that played a central role in exposing Watergate."
A gate, valve, or movable barrier used to control or shut off the flow of water in a canal, lock, or sluice.
"Workers lowered the heavy iron watergate to prevent the rising river from flooding the low-lying pasture."
Word Origin & Etymology
Originally a Middle English compound of 'water' and 'gate' denoting a sluice or floodgate. The political sense derives from the Watergate office and apartment complex along the Potomac River in Washington, D.C., where a 1972 burglary at the Democratic National Committee headquarters sparked a scandal that later gave English the productive suffix '-gate' for public controversies.