Definition of gatekeepernext
as in janitor
a person who tends a door those who are hopelessly unhip have little chance of making past the club's gatekeeper and his velvet rope

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

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 gatekeeper LegitScript, a private, for-profit company, is among the most powerful gatekeepers in selling health services online. — Daniel Gilbert, CBS News, 16 Sep. 2026 The Migration Of Power​ Through the 1990s and into the early 2000s, mainstream attention was funneled through a remarkably small number of gatekeepers. — Julia Ruttner, Forbes.com, 14 Sep. 2026 Fields said the group typically comes up with its own ideas, polls possible ballot language to gauge public support and files different versions of that language with the state title board, the administrative gatekeeper for ballot access. — Seth Klamann, Denver Post, 13 Sep. 2026 If it could be sustained, such a strategy would make Iran and its regional partner de facto gatekeepers for trillions of dollars’ worth of trade each year. — April Longley Alley, Foreign Affairs, 11 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for gatekeeper
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gatekeeper
Noun
  • Elbert said an airport janitor finally grabbed the bird with her shirt.
    — Sara Tenenbaum, CBS News, 16 Oct. 2026
  • May Rosenberg, the wife of the critic Harold Rosenberg, once visited Krasner’s studio and assumed that the man hanging around in dungarees, not saying much of anything, was an intellectually disabled janitor.
    — Zachary Fine, New Yorker, 14 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • An investigation identified several people involved in the plot, such as the prison porter who was apprehended, other inmates and known associates.
    — DeJanay Booth-Singleton, CBS News, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Throughout the tour, Candamil draws on his memories growing up in the market, first watching his father and then working there in his youth as a carretillero, a cargo porter who steers upright wooden carts with produce through its narrow aisles.
    — Nikkita Nair, Condé Nast Traveler, 7 Oct. 2026

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

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

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!