portal
- 01 C1 Advanced
n.a large, impressive, or grand entrance to a building like a church or palace.
n.a grand or imposing entrance to a building, often featuring ornate architectural details.
Simple“The cathedral's stone portal was decorated with beautiful statues of saints.”
In context“The architect designed a massive limestone portal to serve as the primary focal point of the university's new library facade.”
- 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
n.a website that acts as a main starting point for many other pages and services.
n.a website or web application that functions as a central point of access to various information, tools, and links.
Simple“Students can check their grades and schedule through the university portal.”
In context“The corporate portal provides employees with a single sign-on interface to access payroll, benefits, and internal project management tools.”
- 03 B2 Upper Intermediate
n.a magical or sci-fi doorway that lets you travel instantly to another place or time.
n.a fictional aperture or gateway allowing for instantaneous travel between distant locations, dimensions, or points in time.
Simple“In the movie, the hero steps through a glowing portal to reach another planet.”
In context“The narrative relies on the discovery of an ancient portal that connects the protagonist's world to a parallel dimension.”
- 04 C2 Proficiency
n.a specific vein that carries blood into the liver.
n.relating to the porta hepatis; specifically the portal vein which conducts blood from the gastrointestinal tract to the liver.
Simple“The doctor explained how the portal vein moves blood to the liver.”
In context“Portal hypertension can lead to significant clinical complications, including the development of varices in the digestive tract.”
- 05 C1 Advanced
v.to move from one place to another using a magical or high-tech doorway.
v.to teleport or transition between locations via a portal; primarily used in gaming or speculative fiction contexts.
Simple“The character portalled back to the city to buy more supplies.”
In context“Players often portal across the map to avoid lengthy travel times between quest objectives.”
Synonyms
“A new complaints portal had also received more than 16,000 complaints in its first three months, Mundhe said.”
“They were search brands, but they were also portals, meaning they strove to be destinations as much as tools.”
From Middle English portal, porttol, from Old French portal and Medieval Latin portāle, from porta.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.