Definition of "floodgate" [floodgate]

• A gate used to control the flow of a body of water. Also called water gate. (noun)
• Something that restrains a flood or outpouring: The ruling opened the floodgates to refugees seeking asylum. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Despite Senator Murkowski's claims of urgency to stop the "floodgate" of greenhouse gas pollution reductions EPA is poised to "unleash," she plans to bide her time for maximum political - and perhaps campaign - advantage."
• "His or her lawyer argued that forcing Google to give up the name would open a "floodgate" of litigation from everyone who ever felt they'd been insulted online."
• "Venise's daughter said she prayed for me often and that knowledge certainly increased the "empathy" I was feeling, and opened the floodgate of tears for both of us."