as in trapdoor
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Recent Examples of portcullis
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
The front door is often guarded with a metal portcullis.
—Ruth Bloomfield, WSJ, 31 Aug. 2017
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
The front door is often guarded with a metal portcullis.
—Ruth Bloomfield, WSJ, 31 Aug. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for portcullis
Noun
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Concluding Thought Since a personal guarantee is a pledge of all one's worldly non-exempt assets to back the underlying loan, a personal guarantee is basically a financial noose that one puts their head into and then waits to see if the trapdoor opens.—
Jay Adkisson,
Forbes.com,
9 July 2025
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When an inlet on Haugen's street fills, a trapdoor opens and dumps the contents into a 20-inch steel tube below the street.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
15 June 2025
Noun
-
The renovations include lighter paint, new tables and chairs, brighter lighting and bookshelves to replace lattice wall dividers that previously held Southern-style decor.—
Reia Li,
AZCentral.com,
13 Aug. 2025
-
Instead of being evenly spread out along the material’s lattice (or atomic arrangement), electrons bunched together in certain regions and spread out in others, forming a wave pattern—or a charge density wave (CDW) phase.—
Meghie Rodrigues,
IEEE Spectrum,
23 July 2025
Noun
-
The evergreen revolving door of oddballs and cynics populating that Manhattan arraignment court in the wee hours of the night and at the center of it all a workplace family that will forever be... until next time.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
19 June 2025
-
The Chargers have dealt with a bit of revolving door at cornerback so far in camp.—
Daniel Popper,
New York Times,
30 July 2025
Noun
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In The Hundred, he’s taken six wickets in five games for Trent Rockets at an average of just 13.33.—
Sukhman Singh,
New York Times,
9 Aug. 2025
-
Farrell, who is based in Toronto, knows his way between the wickets in cricket, a bat and ball game like baseball that is popular outside of North America, especially as a billion-dollar TV entertainment juggernaut via the Indian Premier League.—
Etan Vlessing,
HollywoodReporter,
1 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Portcullis.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/portcullis. Accessed 27 Aug. 2025.
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