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
-
His vision of Treehouse Town is brimming with imaginative contraptions, like crow’s nests for viewing, air trams, rope swings, trapdoors and sycamore slides.—
Megan Gambino,
Smithsonian Magazine,
18 Dec. 2024
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The pain can also linger for a long time, as anyone from Wrexham unfortunate enough to be inside Shrewsbury’s then relatively new home in April 2008, as the Welsh club were nudged towards the EFL relegation trapdoor, will surely attest.—
Richard Sutcliffe,
The Athletic,
17 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
John Bardeen, Leon Cooper, and John Robert Schrieffer figured out that at low temperatures, a material’s jittery atomic lattice quiets down, so more delicate effects come through.—
Charlie Wood,
WIRED,
12 Jan. 2025
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Shigeru Ban has experimented with wooden lattices, vaulting, curved planes, grids, and steel-free joinery using only pegs and dowels.—
Justin Davidson,
Curbed,
8 Jan. 2025
Noun
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The Raiders’ revolving door of a front office during this span also didn’t have a quarterback plan fully in place.—
Vincent Frank,
Forbes,
25 Jan. 2025
-
Washington has not solved the problem of the revolving doors between Big Pharma and government regulators.—
David Marks,
Orlando Sentinel,
13 Nov. 2024
Noun
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Following that was the first ODI between these two foes, with Oman beating the United States by seven wickets.—
Josh Hammer,
Newsweek,
18 Feb. 2025
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Here are five ways to eat, drink and play that will scratch the rich surface of the Bay Area’s South Asian experience. Bowls, bats and wickets There are two types of people in this world: people who understand how cricket works and people who don’t.—
Isha Trivedi,
The Mercury News,
18 Jan. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Portcullis.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/portcullis. Accessed 3 Mar. 2025.
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