gates

Noun

gate (plural gates)

1. A doorlike structure outside a house.
2. A doorway, opening, or passage in a fence or wall.
   • At 7, he made his exit through the Ch‘ien-ch‘ing and the Lung-tsung gates, and thence, through the Yung-Hang Gate he entered the Tz‘u-ning Palace.1870 June [1870 April], “The Peking Gazettes”, in Chinese Recorder and Missionary Journal, volume 3, number 1, Foochow: American Presbyterian Mission Press, →OCLC, page 12, column 1

   Synonyms:

   doorway, entrance, passage

3. A movable barrier.
   • The gate in front of the railroad crossing went up after the train had passed.
4. A passageway (as in an air terminal) where passengers can embark or disembark.
5. A location which serves as a conduit for transport, migration, or trade.
   • Lyons and Fisher's stations, who have spared nothing to ensure a success on this point, there is every reason to believe that the Northern Territory will soon be able to make a proper use of her geographical position, and become the gate of the East for all the Australian colonies.1887, Harriet W. Daly, Digging, Squatting, and Pioneering Life in the Northern Territory of South Australia, page 246
6. The amount of money made by selling tickets to a concert or a sports event.

See all 33 meanings of gate