gateway
noun
Simple meaning
Any point that represents the beginning of a transition from one place or phase to another.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
gaytwaySay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈɡeɪtweɪ
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
Any point that represents the beginning of a transition from one place or phase to another.
A place regarded as giving access to somewhere.
An entrance that can be closed by a gate
A passage that can be closed by use of a gate.
A point at which freight moving from one territory to another is interchanged between transportation lines.
attributive
Any thing or area of interest that tends to lead to deeper involvement.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A2 · Elementary (estimated)
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- Varies by meaning
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Any point that represents the beginning of a transition from one place or phase to another.
Used this way, gateway is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use gateway
- “The old stone archway served as a grand gateway to the estate.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A habit-forming drug that is not addictive but its use may lead to the use of other addictive drugs.
The largest city in Missouri.
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What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.