as in janitors
a person who tends a door
those who are hopelessly unhip have little chance of making past the club's gatekeeper and his velvet rope
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Recent Examples of gatekeepers
Meanwhile, the gatekeepers allocating this capital remain overwhelmingly male.
—
Lily Mae Lazarus, Fortune, 6 Mar. 2026
Studios, producers and other gatekeepers rapidly figured out that people did not want to go back there.
—Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 3 Mar. 2026
Right now, some of these systems are black boxes controlled by gatekeepers with conflicting incentives.
—Matthew Henick, Variety, 23 Feb. 2026
Smaller players have bought up hundreds of independent gatekeepers — consultants, advisers and third-party administrators.
—Dallas Morning News, 21 Feb. 2026
Blogs, tweets, and podcasts bypass traditional gatekeepers, bringing a wider array of voices into literary spaces that once seemed impenetrable.
—Literary Hub, 18 Feb. 2026
The leadership of film and cultural institutions has been handed to political appointees with no professional qualifications, whose primary function is to act as gatekeepers and censors.
—Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 18 Feb. 2026
The offseason discourse relies on rumors, and the social media age not only means there are no longer gatekeepers, but that there are no longer gates.
—C. Trent Rosecrans, New York Times, 13 Feb. 2026
Such a system would open the field to more candidates, reduce the power of party gatekeepers, and give voters a genuine choice — without leaving districts unrepresented for long periods of time.
—Grace Rauh, New York Daily News, 3 Feb. 2026
Lily Mae Lazarus, Fortune, 6 Mar. 2026
Studios, producers and other gatekeepers rapidly figured out that people did not want to go back there.
—Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 3 Mar. 2026
Right now, some of these systems are black boxes controlled by gatekeepers with conflicting incentives.
—Matthew Henick, Variety, 23 Feb. 2026
Smaller players have bought up hundreds of independent gatekeepers — consultants, advisers and third-party administrators.
—Dallas Morning News, 21 Feb. 2026
Blogs, tweets, and podcasts bypass traditional gatekeepers, bringing a wider array of voices into literary spaces that once seemed impenetrable.
—Literary Hub, 18 Feb. 2026
The leadership of film and cultural institutions has been handed to political appointees with no professional qualifications, whose primary function is to act as gatekeepers and censors.
—Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 18 Feb. 2026
The offseason discourse relies on rumors, and the social media age not only means there are no longer gatekeepers, but that there are no longer gates.
—C. Trent Rosecrans, New York Times, 13 Feb. 2026
Such a system would open the field to more candidates, reduce the power of party gatekeepers, and give voters a genuine choice — without leaving districts unrepresented for long periods of time.
—Grace Rauh, New York Daily News, 3 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gatekeepers
Noun
-
The documents also detail the scale of the personnel required to build and manage the temporary lock-up, from janitors to laundry workers to cooks, translators to legal case managers to IT staff.—
Kate Payne,
Sun Sentinel,
2 Mar. 2026
-
Jobs, like cashiers and janitors, are least exposed to AI, while secretaries and administrative assistants are most impacted, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.—
Jessica Ma,
Dallas Morning News,
19 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
People jostled across the steps as porters maneuvered carts and tourists paused for photos.—
Vic O'Sullivan,
Travel + Leisure,
4 Mar. 2026
-
Fierce sunlight bleaching the stones of the old city, blinding the passengers as porters in white kaffiyehs and djellabas stack their portmanteaus on donkey carts.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
16 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Gatekeepers.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gatekeepers. Accessed 14 Mar. 2026.
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