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
-
Instead, Markiewicz said, the team decided to keep the quest a little more grounded, eschewing magic altogether and having Geralt dropped through a trapdoor into a pit of spiders.—
Oliver Brandt,
MSNBC Newsweek,
20 May 2025
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Ruben Amorim’s side are 16th in a 20-club league and, with one game of their domestic campaign to go, the 20-time English champions have not even reached 40 points, which was once regarded as the safety mark that would ensure a club avoided dropping through the trapdoor into the second tier.—
Daniel Taylor,
New York Times,
19 May 2025
Noun
-
Each about the size of a large table, not counting their broad solar arrays, the satellites operate in a grid to form a lattice across nearly all of the planet, excluding the poles.—
Josh Dinner,
Space.com,
7 May 2025
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Even with leaders' interest in lattices or rock-climbing metaphors, the research field remains stuck in vertical models.—
Tonushree Mondal,
Forbes.com,
14 May 2025
Noun
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Comments Joy Behar reflected on her revolving door of colleagues since joining The View in 1997.—
Joey Nolfi Published,
EW.com,
14 May 2025
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Business-government entanglements, revolving doors, and public-private partnerships have been a bipartisan tradition for decades and should be addressed in total.—
Clyde Wayne Crews Jr,
Forbes.com,
12 May 2025
Noun
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The last time the Chevrons came to play the long format in the United Kingdom, Jimmy Anderson took five wickets on debut as a callow 20-year-old with peroxide streaks.—
Tim Ellis,
Forbes.com,
21 May 2025
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The Johnnies, notoriously secretive about their uniforms, made their entrance costumed as the tournament's grass croquet courts, complete with mini wickets, mallets, balls and clips.—
Tyrone Turner,
NPR,
12 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Portcullis.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/portcullis. Accessed 7 Jun. 2025.
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