floodgate

flood·gate

UK/ˈflʌdˌɡeɪt/ US/ˈflʌdɡeɪt/ uncommon obsolete

noun

something that restrains a flood or outpouring

“suspension of surveillance opened the floodgates to illegal immigrants”

regulator consisting of a valve or gate that controls the rate of water flow through a sluice

Synonyms

sluicegate
sluice valve
penstock
head gate
water gate

Origin

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

Phrases

sluice gate
water gate

Related words

Broader terms

regulator
restraint

Parts

sluice

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.

noun
singular	floodgate
plural	floodgates