floodgate
Plural: floodgates
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
- An adjustable gate or valve used to control the flow of water through a sluice.
- Anything that controls or limits an outpouring of people, emotion, etc.
- A stream that passes through a floodgate; a torrent.
Origin / Etymology
From Middle English flodegate, flodgate, flodeyate, floodȝate, flodȝete, equivalent to flood + gate.
Synonyms
head gate, penstock, sluice valve, sluicegate, water gate
Scrabble Score: 14
floodgate: valid Scrabble (US) TWL wordfloodgate: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
floodgate: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary
Words With Friends Score: 16
floodgate is a valid Words With Friends word