- [countable] a barrier like a door that is used to close an opening in a fence or a wall outside a building
- the front/main gate
- the back/side gate
- an iron gate
- to open/close/shut a gate
- He pushed open the garden gate.
- outside a gate Students were still standing outside the school gates.
- at a gate A crowd gathered at the factory gates.
- gate to something Someone was waiting by the gate to his house.
Extra ExamplesTopics Gardensa2- Don't forget to shut the gate when you leave.
- The gate shut behind him.
- The great gates of the abbey were shut fast.
- The heavy gate swung open.
- a set of ornamental gates
- a wide driveway with double gates
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- front
- main
- entrance
- …
- set
- open
- bar
- close
- …
- open
- swing open
- close
- …
- through a/the gate
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- [countable] an opening that can be closed by a gate or gates
- I was slightly nervous as I entered the gates.
- through a gate We drove through the palace gates.
Extra Examples- Go through the gate and continue down the track.
- He led us through a gate into a little garden.
- Hesitantly, he emerged from the gates of the prison.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- front
- main
- entrance
- …
- set
- open
- bar
- close
- …
- open
- swing open
- close
- …
- through a/the gate
- [countable] a way out of an airport through which passengers go to get on their plane
- Passengers for Paris should proceed to gate 8.
- at a gate BA flight 726 to Paris is now boarding at gate 16.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- front
- main
- entrance
- …
- set
- open
- bar
- close
- …
- open
- swing open
- close
- …
- through a/the gate
- [countable] a barrier that is used to control the flow of water on a river or canal
- a lock/sluice gate
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- front
- main
- entrance
- …
- set
- open
- bar
- close
- …
- open
- swing open
- close
- …
- through a/the gate
- [countable] the number of people who attend a sports event
- Tonight's game has attracted the largest gate of the season.
- (also gate money)[uncountable] the amount of money made by selling tickets for a sports event
- Today's gate will be given to charity.
- -gate(forming nouns from the names of people, places or events; used especially in newspapers) a political scandal connected with the person, place or event mentioned, usually involving a cover-up (= an attempt to hide an illegal activity)
- The newspapers have been running stories on the Partygate scandal for months.
- (also logic gate)(computing) an electronic switch that reacts in one of two ways to data that is put into it. A computer performs operations by passing data through a very large number of gates.
Word OriginOld English gæt, geat, plural gatu, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch gat ‘gap, hole, breach’. Sense 7 from Watergate, the scandal in the United States that brought about the resignation of President Nixon in 1974.
Idioms
See gate in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee gate in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic Englishcome, get, etc. out of the gate(s)
- (North American English, informal) to be successful from the beginning, especially in sport
- The Grizzlies came out of the gate motivated, bursting to a 27–10 lead.
- The team has struggled to get out of the gate this year.
(right) out of the gate(s)
- (North American English, informal) right from the beginning of a situation or an activity
- The trouble began right out of the gate.
- The Democrats had a clear advantage out of the gate.
Check pronunciation:
gate