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🚗 To drive too close 🚚 Back gate 🚧 Water control gate
tailgate

tailgate

3 8.8
A gate at the lower end of a lock that lets water out
  • noun
  • /ˈteɪlˌɡeɪt/
  • Specialized
translation icon : compuerta
  • Join Matt Jones and the crew for the KSR Pre-game Tailgate show starting at 4:00 PM.
  • tailgate party

Examples

  • So, meat-loving readers, grab your closest football fan friends and try out some cheese-stuffed burgers at your next tailgate.

    Blog text (34)

  • The canal's tailgate is essential for regulating water levels downstream.

  • Then in the parking lot, they saw some friends having a tailgate party.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • Want to throw a tailgate party of your own?

    Blog text (12)

  • Check out these best ways to get to FedEx Field and save all that energy for the tailgate party and game.

    Blog text (24)

  • Formo, it was very nice to meet you and your wife at the tailgate.

    Blog text (15)

  • Make sure you include InterExchange's favorite tailgate food, Chicken Wing Dip!

    Blog text (12)

  • One staffer suggested that he drop in on tailgates to remind fans that, in his heart, he was one of them.

    Blog text (30)

  • We watch the seasons change, cheer on the Spartans at the tailgates and the games.

    Blog text (30)

  • And Stanford played the University of Colorado in football, so perhaps I could rustle up a tailgate affair in Boulder this fall or next.

    Fiction book (1993)

Synonyms

floodgate
vstailgate
  • Specialized
5 4.0

A metal door that controls water flowing through a dam or channel

is aimed at routine downstream flow control rather than flood protection
lock-gate
vstailgate
  • Specialized
4.9

A gate that opens and closes to let boats pass and control water in a canal

is only at the lower downstream end to control water flow
sluicegate
vstailgate
  • Specialized
8.9

A gate that controls the flow of water in a channel

is specific to the downstream lock end rather than general channels
water gate
vstailgate
  • Specialized
4.8

A gate or valve that controls water flow in dams and canals

is the specific downstream lock end control rather than any barrier

Surface Forms

tailgate singular
tailgates plural

Morphology

tailgate = tail + gate (transparent) = tail + gate

Components 'tail' (rear/end) + 'gate' (barrier) clearly describe a gate at the tail/end of a lock or canal.

Etymology

Tailgate comes from two simple words: tail meaning 'back' or 'end' and gate meaning 'door'. A canal or lock tailgate is like the 'back door' that lets water out at the lower end, which is why it controls flow downstream.