gatekeeper

noun

gate·​keep·​er ˈgāt-ˌkē-pər 

plural gatekeepers

1

: one that tends or guards a gate

2

: someone or something that controls access

Even technologically inhibited parents should act as gatekeepers to control which software the child has in his home library.

—Stephanie Losee

State Secretary Moerdiono, whose office is adjacent to the palace, is the President's gatekeeper. He shifts through the many requests for audiences with the President.

—Margaret Scott

… more and more standalone PCs, laptops, and all types of network components are being equipped with biometric devices. These combination hardware-and-software bundles record fingerprints, faces, voices, irises, retinas, signatures, and other physical attributes and serve as gatekeepers …

—Sally Wiener Grotta

The real authority lay in the hands of a North Dakota insurance company—one of the hidden gatekeepers of American medicine who ration health care.

—Laurie McGinley

The gatekeepers were absolutely not letting anyone without a QR code in, and your QR code had to actually work or you were escorted from the line.

—Loren Grush

Synonyms of gatekeeper

• janitor
• porter

Examples of gatekeeper in a Sentence

those who are hopelessly unhip have little chance of making past the club's gatekeeper and his velvet rope

Recent Examples on the Web

But if the new player council takes hold, the shadow maverick may have helped force the sport’s gatekeepers to pull up a seat at the table, then made his own seat unnecessary. — Douglas Robson, Los Angeles Times, 9 Sep. 2026

Chicago should make sure its most powerful gatekeepers are not making that market less free. — Tomas J. Philipson, Chicago Tribune, 6 Sep. 2026

In her late fifties, Evans was set up with a job as gatekeeper at Airlie Gardens, in Wilmington. — Doreen St. Félix, New Yorker, 5 Sep. 2026

For decades, the entry point for high-impact visual storytelling remained locked behind physical constraints, gatekeepers and immense capital. — Coco Mao, Forbes.com, 1 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1572, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for gatekeeper

• beekeeper
• bookkeeper
• doorkeeper
• gamekeeper
• goalkeeper
• housekeeper
• innkeeper
• minesweeper
• peacekeeper
• shopkeeper
• storekeeper
• timekeeper

Kids Definition

gatekeeper

noun

gate·​keep·​er -ˌkē-pər 

1

: a person who tends or guards a gate

2

: a person who controls access

Medical Definition

gatekeeper

noun

gate·​keep·​er -ˌkē-pər 

: a health care professional (as a primary care physician) who regulates access especially to hospitals and specialists

managed care plans rely on a designated physician gatekeeper to orchestrate and control the health care of its enrollees

—E. A. Halm et al.