Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
×

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

portcullis

play
noun port·cul·lis \pȯrt-ˈkə-ləs\

Definition of portcullis

  1. :  a grating of iron hung over the gateway of a fortified place and lowered between grooves to prevent passage

See portcullis defined for English-language learners

See portcullis defined for kids

Indulge Your Inner Word Nerd

alt-5978a79b75e17
Trending: 'Transgender' Americans Face New Restrictions
alt-5978b44edfb13
Our (Almost) Final Word on 'Penultimate'
video-title-words-of-the-year-1066
Words of the Year: 1066
image1358596246
Words About Word Play

Illustration of portcullis

Origin and Etymology of portcullis

Middle English port colice, from Anglo-French porte coliz, literally, sliding door

PORTCULLIS Defined for English Language Learners

portcullis

play
noun

Definition of portcullis for English Language Learners

  • : a heavy iron gate that can be raised or lowered at the entrance to a castle

PORTCULLIS Defined for Kids

portcullis

play
noun port·cul·lis \pȯrt-ˈkə-ləs\

Definition of portcullis for Students

  1. :  a heavy iron gate that can be lowered to prevent entrance (as to a castle)

Learn More about portcullis

  1. See words that rhyme with portcullis

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up portcullis? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show hide

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

WORD OF THE DAY

fester

play

to become worse as time passes

Get Word of the Day daily email!

TRENDING NOW

  1. transgender Trump reverses military policy allowing transgender people to serve

  2. beleaguer 'Being subjected to constant or repeated trouble or harassment'

  3. scaramouch A new White House communications director

  4. non sequitur “It does not follow”

  5. admiral's mast A massive search ends with an 'admiral's mast'.

SEE ALL

BROWSE DICTIONARY

portcullis

Test Your Vocabulary

The Emoji Quiz

  • emoji-the-quiz
  • What phase of the moon is this: 🌖 ?
Spell It

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

TAKE THE QUIZ
Citation

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play

alt-5978b44edfb13
Our (Almost) Final Word on 'Penultimate'

The ultimate guide to using penultimate.

alt-5978cb55e8ba5
The Grammatical History of 'Awaken'/'Awoken'/'Awakened'

Or you can just go back to bed.

alt-59775cb5d7779
Words We're Watching: 'Aquafaba'

Don't dump out the bean water just yet...

image1358596246
Words About Word Play

Don't just eat your words—play with them!

Ask the Editors

video-title-words-of-the-year-1066
Words of the Year: 1066

Or, Why Pig Meat is Called 'Pork' and Cow Meat is Called 'Beef'

payday
How Often Is 'Biweekly'?

Don't get us started on 'bimonthly'

video-irregardless-grammar-peeve-blend-of-the-synonyms-irrespective-and-regardless
Irregardless

It is in fact a real word (but that doesn't mean you should use it).

video-moose-goose-weird-plurals
Weird Plurals

One goose, two geese. One moose, two... moose. What's up with that?

Word Games

emoji-the-quiz
The Emoji Quiz

Think you’re an emoji 👓 expert? Let’s see 🤔

Take the quiz
image941935269
A Game of Thrones Word Quiz

In the Game of Thrones quiz, you learn some new vocabulary. (It’s quite safe, really. You will not die.)

Take the quiz
Spell It
Spell It

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

Take the quiz
Citation
Citation

Do you know the person or title these quotes describe?

Play the game