as in trapdoor
Related Words
Relevance
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
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
-
Or maybe the professor failed to notice trapdoors in the locked boxes, and the student had an accomplice behind the scenes who was hastily solving problems and slipping the solutions into the right boxes before they got opened.—
Erica Klarreich,
Quanta Magazine,
9 July 2025
-
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
Noun
-
Functionally, the keycaps are well-made and large, though your muscle memory may take some retraining since the spacing is different from a regular lattice keyboard.—
Matthew Buzzi,
PC Magazine,
5 Oct. 2025
-
Instead of destroying the molecules (which is what most people thought would happen), the beam caused the hydrogens to detach and the carbons to link up, thereby slowly building up a diamond lattice.—
Christopher McFadden,
Interesting Engineering,
7 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Brown and Smith have built their reputations for making defenders pay in man coverage, and Philadelphia’s revolving door of play-callers has each tried to create one-on-one matchups for them.—
Brooks Kubena,
New York Times,
24 Sep. 2025
-
Revolving door of prime ministers Some investors worry that Japan’s revolving door of prime ministers could spook markets, but Neuberger Berman’s Okamura isn’t convinced.—
Lee Ying Shan,
CNBC,
23 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
By the 20th over, Pakistan lost six wickets and the following overs continued to collapse the remaining order.—
Paras J. Haji,
Forbes.com,
13 Aug. 2025
-
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
Cite this Entry
“Portcullis.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/portcullis. Accessed 7 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share