ENGLISH
REFERENCE

gate

n. · v.
US //ˈɡeɪt// UK //ɡˈeɪt// gate
  1. 1 barrier in a fence (n.)
    A2 Elementary

    a door in a fence or an outside wall.

    a hinged or sliding barrier used to close an opening in a wall, fence, or hedge.

    Example

    Please make sure you close the garden gate so the dog doesn't get out.

    Example

    The heavy iron gate creaked on its hinges as the gardener pushed it open to allow the delivery truck into the courtyard.
  2. 2 airport boarding area (n.)
    A2 Elementary

    the place at an airport where you wait to get on your plane.

    the specific area in an airport terminal where passengers assemble to board a particular aircraft.

    Example

    Our flight is leaving from gate 42, which is at the end of this hallway.

    Example

    Passengers were advised to proceed immediately to the gate, as the ground crew had already commenced the final boarding process for the international flight.
Show 3 more sensesShow fewer
  1. 3 electronics/computing (n.)
    C1 Advanced Technical Computing

    a tiny switch in a computer that controls the flow of information.

    an electronic circuit or component that acts as a logic element, producing an output based on specific input conditions.

    Example

    A computer processor contains millions of tiny gates that process data.

    Example

    The engineer explained how the NAND gate serves as a universal building block for more complex digital architectures.
  2. 4 ticket sales (n.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate Sport

    the total amount of money made from selling tickets at a sports event or concert.

    the total number of people attending a public event or the total amount of money received from ticket sales.

    Example

    The local football club needs a big gate this weekend to pay its bills.

    Example

    Despite the poor weather, the match attracted a record gate, significantly boosting the club's revenue for the quarter.
  3. 5 to restrict access (v.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate

    to control or limit who can see or use something.

    to selectively regulate, restrict, or control access to a resource or information.

    Example

    The company decided to gate their best articles so only members could read them.

    Example

    The marketing team chose to gate the white paper behind a sign-up form to capture lead information from interested professionals.
Etymology 1

From Middle English gate, gat, ȝate, ȝeat, from Old English gat (“gate”, variant of ġeat), from Proto-West Germanic gat, from Proto-Germanic gatą (“hole, opening”). See also Old Norse gat, Swedish and Dutch gat, Low German Gaat, Gööt.

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Old Norse gata, from Proto-Germanic *gatwǭ. Cognate with Danish gade, Swedish gata, German Gasse (“lane”). Doublet of gait.

Word family
Idioms1 entry

© 2026 English Reference