gatekeep

verb, noun — 4 senses

gatekeep

verb

/ˈɡeɪt.kiːp/

Etymology From gate + keep, as back-formation from gatekeeper.

1

To control or limit access to something.

2

Human sciences, Sciences, Social science, Sociology To limit (sometimes manipulatively, rather than directly) how much of a role another party, often a spouse, has in some task.

3

Broadly To limit another party's participation in a collective identity or an activity, usually due to undue pettiness, resentment, or overprotectiveness.

Derived terms
gatekeeper, gate-keepy
Related terms
no true Scotsman fallacy

gatekeep

noun

Etymology From gate + keep, as back-formation from gatekeeper.

1

A gatekeeper.

  • 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.1949, Laverne Gay, Wine of Ssatan a Novel of the First Crusade, page 129:
  • A gentleman stopped his horse at a toll-gate and not seeing the gatekeep went into the house.1969, Donald M. Hines, Dust Devils in the Great Desert:
2 more examples
  • Though there was a moment of anxiety, a generous bribe persuaded the gatekeep to overlook their expired passports and they rode into Calais.1987, Maggie Osborne, Chase the Heart, page 278:
  • “At least those doxies don't fancy themselves the gatekeeps of God, like the priest.” Margit said.2017, Jeannie Troll, A Clever Girl:

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.