Floodgate

2 definitions found

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  floodgate
       n 1: something that restrains a flood or outpouring; "suspension
            of surveillance opened the floodgates to illegal
            immigrants"
       2: regulator consisting of a valve or gate that controls the
          rate of water flow through a sluice [syn: {sluicegate}, {sluice


          valve}, {penstock}, {head gate}, {water gate}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  46 Moby Thesaurus words for "floodgate":
     aboideau, air lock, avenue, blowhole, channel, chute, debouch,
     dock gate, door, egress, emunctory, escape, estuary, exhaust, exit,
     flood-hatch, flume, gate, head gate, lock, lock gate, loophole,
     opening, out, outcome, outfall, outgate, outgo, outlet, penstock,
     pore, port, sally port, sluice, sluice gate, spiracle, spout, tap,
     tide gate, vent, ventage, venthole, vomitory, water gate, way out,
     weir