Thesaurus results for FLOODGATE

floodgate

noun

Definition of floodgate

as in sluice

Related 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 floodgate 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 The floodgate will require an expensive removal of the mussels. — Julia Jacobo, ABC News, 1 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for floodgate

Recent Examples of Synonyms for floodgate

Noun

Dam Removal Europe found that the number of dams dismantled in 2025, along with other water-flow controls like weirs, culverts and sluices, grew by 11% from the year before.

— Chas Newkey-Burden, TheWeek, 3 June 2026
The archways are furnished with sluice gates that can open to allow excess water to pass through in periods of flooding.

— Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 8 May 2026

Definition of sluice

Noun

Subsurface barrier walls are frequently used to block saltwater intrusion and protect buildings from groundwater, for example.

— Idaho Statesman, Idaho Statesman, 15 Aug. 2026
Spain has also installed floating barriers in the waters where migrants had previously swam across.

— Robert McGreevy, FOXNews.com, 15 Aug. 2026

Definition of barrier

Noun

The 2024 race pitted Scharf, then Trump’s personal attorney, against Bailey, who used his office to file a barrage of legal briefs in support of the Republican president.

— Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 13 Aug. 2026
In IconArrows pointing outwards Meanwhile, the daily barrage of news and headlines continue.

— Brian Sullivan, CNBC, 13 Aug. 2026

Definition of barrage

Noun

There was no music and no hustle and bustle in Inwood on Sunday; just the sound of barricades being laid out in the normally boisterous neighborhood.

— Kristie Keleshian, CBS News, 16 Aug. 2026
That same year, however, California breached the War on Drugs barricades, becoming the first state to legalize medical marijuana.

— Bob Woods, CNBC, 15 Aug. 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

Browse Nearby Words

flooded

floodgate

floodgates

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Floodgate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/floodgate. Accessed 21 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of floodgate

noun

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster on floodgate

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

rigmarole

Popular in Grammar & Usage

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

How to Pronounce the Trickiest Menu Items

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Popular in Wordplay

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

Popular

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

Games & Quizzes