-gate
"gate" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“-gate” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as a suffix - the kind of word writers most often double-check.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 5
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Combined with a relevant place, person, activity, etc. to form the names of scandals.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | -gate |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Suffix |
| Letters | 5 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “-gate” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for -gate is 5 letters long, classified as a suffix. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Combined with a relevant place, person, activity, etc. to form the names of scandals.".
Zero misspellings are on record for -gate in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: Back-formation from Watergate, an American political scandal from 1972–1974 which led to resignation of president Richard Nixon. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the suffix first appeared in a 1973 article in the National Lampoon magazine which r… The correct English form is -gate, spelled --G-A-T-E.
Definition
- 1Combined with a relevant place, person, activity, etc. to form the names of scandals.
Etymology
Back-formation from Watergate, an American political scandal from 1972–1974 which led to resignation of president Richard Nixon. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the suffix first appeared in a 1973 article in the National Lampoon magazine which referenced a rumoured "Volgagate". The suffix was promoted by New York Times columnist William Safire, who coined several -gate words beginning in 1974.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “-gate”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is --G-A-T-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.