floodgate

noun
/ˈflʌdˌɡeɪt/

Etymology

From Middle English flodegate, flodgate, flodeyate, floodȝate, flodȝete, equivalent to flood + gate.

  1. inherited from flodegate

Definitions

  1. An adjustable gate or valve used to control the flow of water through a sluice.

    • At the start of the Second World War floodgates would be installed at the ends of the under-Thames sections of the Bakerloo and Northern lines to save them from inundation should bombs damage the riverbed.
  2. Anything that controls or limits an outpouring of people, emotion, etc.

    • “The floodgates for advertising on cable are down,” says Michael Dann, a leading consultant on cable television.
  3. A stream that passes through a floodgate

    A stream that passes through a floodgate; a torrent.

    • Out of her gored wound the cruell ſteel / He lightly ſnatcht, and did the floodgate ſtop / VVith his faire garment: then gan ſoftly feel her feeble pulſe, to proue if any drop / Of liuing blood yet in her veynes did hop
  4. + 1 more definition
    1. A series of allegations of corruption, mismanagement, and irregularities in flood control…

      A series of allegations of corruption, mismanagement, and irregularities in flood control projects in the Philippines during and before the administration of President Bongbong Marcos.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for floodgate. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA