floodgate

noun

Definition of floodgatenext
as in sluice

Related Words

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of floodgate The floodgates opened early on Friday night at loanDepot Park. — Tyler Carmona, Miami Herald, 6 June 2026 The floodgates to common sense have busted open, testing political natural selection. — Rachel Marsden, Hartford Courant, 5 June 2026 This doesn’t and shouldn’t open the floodgates throughout the rest of a firm. — Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 19 May 2026 Hilary Crowley, a county spokeswoman, said a $100 million floodgate completed in 2024 has been infested with the relentless mollusks, requiring an expensive removal. — Paul Rogers, Mercury News, 8 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for floodgate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for floodgate
  1. sluice
  2. barrier
  3. barrage
  4. barricade
  5. weir
  6. lock
Noun
  • The water flow is being managed at Canton Lake, and the Corps of Engineers said the goal is to have between 600 and 730 cubic feet of water per second leave through sluice gates during the greatest period of flow.
    — Dale Denwalt, Oklahoman, 22 Sep. 2026
  • Kids can dig for fossil replicas and pose for photos next to life-sized dinosaur statues, or pan for treasures in the sluice machine.
    — Kristen Kidd, Denver Post, 22 Sep. 2026
Definition of sluice
Noun
  • There is a flood of creator content available due to a low barrier to entry, and that is now being accelerated by generative AI tools.
    — William Daddi, Forbes.com, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Sometimes, the biggest barrier between a patient and their treatment is not pharmacology.
    — Marcela Gottschald, STAT, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of barrier
Noun
  • Young men from the village pushed the settlers back with a barrage of stones, allowing Khrzhanovskiy and Nathaniel to run to Levine and guide her toward the village.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 17 Oct. 2026
  • Jose Cabrera, was standing at the front entrance of the club when the barrage of bullets began flying.
    — Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of barrage
Noun
  • On the Champs-Elysées, groups of protesters set up barricades, defying police bans on protest actions there.
    — Elina Baudier Kim, CNN Money, 17 Oct. 2026
  • Officers in riot gear clashed with youths who set up street barricades using burning trash bins.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of barricade
Noun
  • Removing the weir will lower the entire lagoon’s water level by several feet and restore the ebb and flow of ocean tides to the basin.
    — Phil Diehl, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 May 2026
  • Known as Big John, the man was fined and forced to dismantle his traditional fish weir or risk imprisonment after he was reported for fishing outside of the reservation.
    — Aubrey Violeta Gelpieryn, CBS News, 30 May 2026
Definition of weir
Noun
  • Then, too, some bowhunters simply aren’t physically able to climb up and down a tree to a lock-on, or use a climber.
    — Colin Moore, Outdoor Life, 15 Oct. 2026
  • Ask about account PINs, number locks and additional verification.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of lock

Browse Nearby Words

flooded
floodgate
floodgates
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Floodgate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/floodgate. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on floodgate

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about floodgate

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