portal

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noun por·tal \ ˈpȯr-tᵊl \

Definition of portal

1 :door, entrance; especially :a grand or imposing one

2 :the whole architectural composition surrounding and including the doorways and porches of a church

3 :the approach or entrance to a bridge or tunnel

4 :a communicating part or area of an organism; specifically :the point at which something (such as a pathogen) enters the body

5 :a website serving as a guide or point of entry to the World Wide Web and usually including a search engine or a collection of links to other sites arranged especially by topic

See portal defined for English-language learners

See portal defined for kids

Examples of portal in a Sentence

a Web portal for baseball fans
the main portal to the estate is an elaborate wrought iron gate on the side facing the road

Recent Examples of portal from the Web

Fans can watch the first episode right now on Facebook and YouTube, as well as all HBO affiliate portals.

— christopher rosa, Glamour, "A New 'Game of Thrones' Spinoff Is Coming to Tide You Over Between Seasons," 28 Aug. 2017
For those who are incarcerated, such audio narratives can open a portal to the outside world as well.

— galen beebe, The Atlantic, "The Podcast Made From Inside Prison," 27 Aug. 2017
First, fans will first have to register with the Taylor Swift Tix portal using their Ticketmaster account, before choosing their preferred city to see a show.

— katie jones, Cosmopolitan, "Taylor Swift's Doing a Reputation Tour and Here's How You Get Tickets," 25 Aug. 2017
Users should type in their street address and select the student's grade from a pull-down menu, according to the portal.

— david anderson, The Aegis, "Harford school bus schedules for 2017-18 available online," 10 Aug. 2017
Soon the screen is being larded up with so many shimmering magical portals and glowing compasses and attacking floorboards that the movie is cheesier than a gouda factory.

— kyle smith, National Review, "The Dark Tower," 4 Aug. 2017
YY started as a gaming portal but has grown into a social communication platform that is a leader in live-streaming.

— emily rauhala, Washington Post, "How to make $100,000 a month in China, live-streaming your life," 23 July 2017
During a run over Zennhausen, the bomber passes through a strange portal in the air.

— n. k. jemisin, New York Times, "Pirates, Drugs and Time Travel: The Best of New Science Fiction and Fantasy," 14 July 2017
Nimman teems with Westerners in search of fresh starts and grand pursuits, and Chiang Mai feels like nothing so much as a frontier town, a pit stop toward some version of the American Dream or else a portal to opt out of it altogether.

— benjamin wallace, Daily Intelligencer, "The Culthopping Twins Who Have Been Evangelicals, Rappers, and Digital Nomads," 12 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'portal.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of portal

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Medieval Latin portale city gate, porch, from neuter of portalis of a gate, from Latin porta gate — more at port

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

See Words from the same year

portal Synonyms

Synonyms

gate, hatch, door

Related Words

double door, Dutch door, French door, lattice, portcullis, postern, revolving door, storm door, trapdoor, wicket

Other Architecture Terms

buttress, casita, cornice, fanlight, garret, lintel, parapet, pilaster, plinth

portal

adjective

Definition of portal

1 :of or relating to the transverse fissure on the underside of the liver where most of the vessels enter

2 :of, relating to, or being a portal vein or a portal system

portal circulation

Recent Examples of portal from the Web

According to Gateway, the online government access portal run by the state, Porter County had 15 TIF districts in 2015.

— amy lavalley, Post-Tribune, "TIF districts costing Porter County millions, auditor says," 27 July 2017
Qantas has a similar program, with Airbnb stays booked through its portal earning one Qantas point per AU$1 spent.

— zach everson, CNT, "Secret Rewards Programs of the Sharing Economy," 10 July 2017
States are also objecting to supplying sensitive information through a central online portal whose security is unproven.

— jeff darcy, cleveland.com, "Trump and Putin discuss hacking: Darcy cartoon," 8 July 2017
Moreover, the panel’s vague directive that all voter data should be submitted through an online portal means private information, regardless of whether or not it’s public, could be vulnerable to foreign hacking, theft or other foul play.

— tomas lopez, Time, "The Gravest Dangers of Trump's Voter Fraud Commission," 7 July 2017
According to data from the Environmental Services Department, about 300 requests are submitted by phone or through an online portal each month.

— lauryn schroeder, sandiegouniontribune.com, "See how long it took San Diego to respond to 20,000 city trash requests," 3 July 2017
The expansion also includes an outdoor Science City exhibit, a conference center and student lunch room and a portal connecting Science City, the Gottlieb Planetarium and the Regnier Extreme Screen Theatre.

— matt campbell, kansascity, "Union Station receives $200,000 from Harry Wilson Loose Trust for expansion project," 3 July 2017
Naperville's open data portal can be found at data.naperville.il.us.

— erin hegarty, Naperville Sun, "New Naperville data portal gives people access to city documents, numbers," 30 June 2017
The spokesperson also did comment on how the attacks affected its client portal (portals are a secure way for law firms and clients use to share messages and documents).

— jeff john roberts, Fortune, "Law Firm DLA Piper Reels Under Cyber Attack, Fate of Files Unclear," 29 June 2017

Origin and Etymology of portal

New Latin porta transverse fissure of the liver, from Latin, gate

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1754

See Words from the same year

Portal

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biographical name Por·tal \ ˈpȯr-tᵊl \

Definition of Portal

Charles Frederick Algernon 1893–1971 1st Viscount Portal of Hungerford British air marshal

PORTAL Defined for English Language Learners

portal

play

noun

Definition of portal for English Language Learners

: a large door or gate to a building (such as a church)
computers : a Web site that helps you find other sites

PORTAL Defined for Kids

portal

play

noun por·tal \ ˈpȯr-tᵊl \

Definition of portal for Students

:a large or fancy door or gate

Medical Dictionary

portal

play

noun por·tal \ ˈpȯrt-ᵊl \

medical Definition of portal

:a communicating part or area of an organism: as

a :portal vein

b :the point at which something enters the body

portals of infection

portal

adjective

medical Definition of portal

1 :of or relating to the porta hepatis

2 :of, relating to, or being a portal vein or a portal system

portal blood

portal circulation

Learn More about portal

See words that rhyme with portal Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for portal Spanish Central: Translation of portal Nglish: Translation of portal for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of portal for Arabic speakers

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Other Architecture Terms

portal

Definition of portal

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Origin and Etymology of portal

Portal

Definition of Portal

PORTAL Defined for English Language Learners

portal

Definition of portal for English Language Learners

PORTAL Defined for Kids

portal

Definition of portal for Students

Medical Dictionary

portal

medical Definition of portal

portal

medical Definition of portal

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