as in trapdoor
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Recent Examples of portcullis
The entrance to the car park even passes under a portcullis and guests’ bags go through an X-ray machine hidden in the rock-face.
—
Caroline Reid, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025
The prior owner went all out on building a Medieval-style castle, with a moat, a drawbridge and a portcullis.
—Katherine Clarke, WSJ, 3 Mar. 2022
Medieval amenities include a moat, two watchtowers and two gates, a drawbridge, an underground cave (complete with a Jacuzzi!), trap doors, and a genuine portcullis (a metal-and-wood gate typically seen in medieval fortresses).
—Mary Elizabeth Andriotis, House Beautiful, 20 Jan. 2022
Then Iraq’s new rulers lowered a paper portcullis, demanding fees and the completion of myriad forms.
—The Economist, 10 Apr. 2021
Pass beneath an imposing portcullis into Edinburgh Castle, home to the National War Museum and the 12th-century St. Margaret’s Chapel—believed to be the oldest building in Edinburgh.
—National Geographic, 12 June 2019
Caroline Reid, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025
The prior owner went all out on building a Medieval-style castle, with a moat, a drawbridge and a portcullis.
—Katherine Clarke, WSJ, 3 Mar. 2022
Medieval amenities include a moat, two watchtowers and two gates, a drawbridge, an underground cave (complete with a Jacuzzi!), trap doors, and a genuine portcullis (a metal-and-wood gate typically seen in medieval fortresses).
—Mary Elizabeth Andriotis, House Beautiful, 20 Jan. 2022
Then Iraq’s new rulers lowered a paper portcullis, demanding fees and the completion of myriad forms.
—The Economist, 10 Apr. 2021
Pass beneath an imposing portcullis into Edinburgh Castle, home to the National War Museum and the 12th-century St. Margaret’s Chapel—believed to be the oldest building in Edinburgh.
—National Geographic, 12 June 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for portcullis
Noun
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But the culture does prime young men to align themselves emotionally with sports and then offer them the trapdoor of an opportunity to return on that investment.—
Hannah Keyser,
CNN Money,
1 Feb. 2026
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When its minuscule trigger hairs are touched, the trapdoor flips open, and the tiny victim is sucked in along with water in milliseconds before the door closes again.—
Scott Travers,
Forbes.com,
20 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
In this setup, qubits are encoded in the electrons of nitrogen atoms and the nuclear states of carbon atoms within the diamond lattice.—
Aman Tripathi,
Interesting Engineering,
5 Feb. 2026
-
Showcase fresh summer stone fruit with a slab pie for a crowd that makes a photo finish with a lattice crust.—
Mary Shannon Wells,
Southern Living,
5 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
There's a revolving door of cool traveling exhibits, so check out the website to see what's happening now.—
Elena Donovan Mauer,
Parents,
8 Feb. 2026
-
But the front office has a shopaholic’s approach to waiver wire pickups and minor-league acquisitions that keeps the revolving door to the Dodgers’ bullpen spinning.—
Bill Plunkett,
Oc Register,
6 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Indian Motorcycle Nostalgia is a tricky wicket for manufacturers.—
William Roberson,
Forbes.com,
29 Jan. 2026
-
Rahman, a 30-year-old fast bowler, is the all-time leading wicket-taker for his nation in T20 cricket and has played regularly for Bangladesh across all formats of the game.—
Colin Millar,
New York Times,
16 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Portcullis.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/portcullis. Accessed 9 Feb. 2026.
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