🚗 A rear door 📦 A loading platform

liftgate

6.5

A platform at the back of a truck or van that moves cargo between the vehicle and ground

noun
/ˈlɪftˌɡeɪt/

Specialized

: plataforma elevadora

He stood on the liftgate while workers strapped the heavy refrigerator to the pallet.

Examples

Before loading, the driver inspected the liftgate to make sure it raised smoothly.
The delivery truck has a liftgate for easy unloading.
The delivery truck's liftgate lowered the couch to the curb for unloading.
Please lower the liftgate before unloading the boxes.
The delivery truck's liftgate made it easy to unload heavy boxes from the back.
During the move, we used the liftgate to safely lower the furniture to the ground.
The driver operated the liftgate to assist with loading the large equipment onto the van.

Synonyms

lifter

vsliftgate

3 3.2

A person or machine that raises heavy things like crates

is a rear mounted platform for raising and lowering vehicle cargo

lifting device

vsliftgate

Specialized

3.8

A machine that raises heavy things like a crane or forklift

is specifically mounted on the rear of delivery vehicles to move cargo

boatlift

vsliftgate

Specialized

6.0

A machine that lifts and lowers boats out of the water for storage or repair

is used on vehicles to move goods between cargo area and ground

How Easy

liftgate

Specialized

6.5

tailboard

8.1

ramp

163 1.6

Surface Forms

liftgate singular

liftgates plural

Morphology

liftgate = lift + gate (semi-transparent) = lift + gate

The meaning 'mechanical platform for raising cargo' directly relates to 'lift' (raise) and to a rear vehicle 'gate', but the technical/platform sense is specialized vocabulary and may not be fully predictable from the parts alone.

Etymology

Liftgate also comes from lift ('raise') and gate ('door' or 'barrier'), and in delivery vehicles it means a platform at the back that raises and lowers cargo, like a small elevator to move heavy items between the truck and the ground.