Watergate

//ˈwɑtəɹˌɡeɪt// name, noun, verb

name, noun, verb ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A gate opening onto water, or only or mainly accessible by water.
  2. 2
    Alternative form of water gate. alt-of, alternative
Verb
  1. 1
    To treat in a manner reminiscent of the Watergate scandal. transitive
  2. 2
    Alternative form of Watergate. alt-of, alternative
  3. 3
    To engage in activities associated with the Watergate scandal. intransitive, rare
Proper Noun
  1. 1
    An American political scandal (beginning with a burglary in the Watergate Hotel in Washington, DC, in 1972) that eventually led to the resignation of US President Richard Nixon.

Synonyms

All synonyms
watergate scandal

Example

More examples

"Nixon tried to stonewall through Watergate by ignoring it, but it didn't work."

Etymology

Etymology 1

From the name of the Watergate Hotel; the complex itself was named after the "Water Gate" area where symphony orchestra concerts were staged on the Potomac River between 1935 and 1965.

Etymology 2

From Middle English watergate, wateregate, watur-ȝate, equivalent to water + gate.

Related phrases

Watergate saladwashington dcwatergate salad

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.