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floodgate

   Also found in: Legal, Idioms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia 0.02 sec.
flood·gate  (fldgt)
n.
1. A gate used to control the flow of a body of water. Also called water gate.
2. Something that restrains a flood or outpouring: The ruling opened the floodgates to refugees seeking asylum.
floodgate [ˈflʌdˌgeɪt]
n
1. (Engineering / Civil Engineering) Also called head gate water gate a gate in a sluice that is used to control the flow of water See also sluicegate
2. (often plural) a control or barrier against an outpouring or flow to open the floodgates to immigration
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Noun1.floodgatefloodgate - something that restrains a flood or outpouring; "suspension of surveillance opened the floodgates to illegal immigrants"
restraint - a rule or condition that limits freedom; "legal restraints"; "restraints imposed on imports"
2.floodgatefloodgate - regulator consisting of a valve or gate that controls the rate of water flow through a sluice
head gate, penstock, sluice valve, sluicegate, water gate
regulator - any of various controls or devices for regulating or controlling fluid flow, pressure, temperature, etc.
sluice, sluiceway, penstock - conduit that carries a rapid flow of water controlled by a sluicegate
Translations
floodgate [ˈflʌdgeɪt] N → compuerta f, esclusa f


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? Mentioned in ? References in classic literature
 
"And it is a remarkable example of the confusion into which the present age has fallen; of the obliteration of landmarks, the opening of floodgates, and the uprooting of distinctions," says Sir Leicester with stately gloom, "that I have been informed by Mr.
Bleak House by Dickens, Charles View in context
I grasped my whip with more determined energy than before - but still forbore to raise it, and rode on in silence, waiting for some more tangible cause of offence, before I opened the floodgates of my soul and poured out the dammed-up fury that was foaming and swelling within.
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Bronte, Anne View in context
How the floodgates were opened, and mother and daughter wept, when they were together embracing each other in this sanctuary, may readily be imagined by every reader who possesses the least sentimental turn.
Vanity Fair by Thackeray, William Makepeace View in context
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