ENGLISH DICTIONARY

Gatekeep

Definition, Meaning & Examples

Pronunciation /ˈɡeɪt.kiːp/ · Part of speech verb

Quick meaning: Gatekeep is a verb meaning To control or limit access to something.

Meaning

To control or limit access to something.

More Meanings

  1. (sociology) To limit (sometimes manipulatively, rather than directly) how much of a role another party, often a spouse, has in some task.
  2. A gatekeeper.
  3. (by extension) To limit another party's participation in a collective identity or an activity, usually due to undue pettiness, resentment, or overprotectiveness.

Example Sentences

A gentleman stopped his horse at a toll-gate and not seeing the gatekeep went into the house.
“At least those doxies don't fancy themselves the gatekeeps of God, like the priest.” Margit said.
Though there was a moment of anxiety, a generous bribe persuaded the gatekeep to overlook their expired passports and they rode into Calais.
Similar remarks had passed the cherry-stained lips a hundred times, and this one was brought on just after the gatekeep at the north postern of Bull Joy had slyly given the wink behind "her husband's" broad back.

Word Forms

Related Words

Related dictionary entries include monitoring, surveillance, kettle, cage, lair, recess.

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Sources & Attribution

FreeDictionaryAPI.com / Wiktionary · Original source · CC BY-SA 4.0

Dictionary data is provided by FreeDictionaryAPI.com and sourced from Wiktionary under its stated license.