floodgate
/ˈflʌdˌɡeɪt/noun
floodgate is spelled F-L-O-O-D-G-A-T-E: 9 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 10 million words in written English, the 94,827th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, floodgate means “An adjustable gate or valve used to control the flow of water through a sluice” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of floodgate is floodgates.
How many letters and syllables are in floodgate?
| Letters | 9: F-L-O-O-D-G-A-T-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 10 million words; the 94,827th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is floodgate?
Floodgate appears about once in every 10 million words in written English, the 94,827th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce floodgate?
- /ˈflʌdˌɡeɪt/
- /ˈflʌdɡeɪt/
Floodgate has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-floodgate.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with floodgate
Also written: flood-gate (one word or two).
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of floodgate
- floodgates plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does floodgate mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
An adjustable gate or valve used to control the flow of water through a sluice.
- 2
Anything that controls or limits an outpouring of people, emotion, etc.
- 3
obsoleteA stream that passes through a floodgate; a torrent.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Floodgate in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | vanne |
| German | Schieber, Schleusentor, Schleuse , Tür und Tor |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does floodgate come from?
From Middle English flodegate, flodgate, flodeyate, floodȝate, flodȝete, equivalent to flood + gate.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).