Watergate

1 of 2

noun (1)

Wa·ter·gate ˈwȯ-tər-ˌgāt

ˈwä-

: a scandal usually involving abuses of office, skulduggery, and a cover-up

water gate

2 of 2

noun (2)

: a gate (as of a building) giving access to a body of water

: floodgate

Examples of Watergate in a Sentence

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Noun

There are pagodas and stupas, ancient wells, ceramic kilns, walls and water gates, and canals and lakes. —

Joshua Hammer, Smithsonian, 21 Nov. 2019

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Watergate, apartment and office complex in Washington, D.C.; from the scandal following the break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters there in 1972

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1973, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler

The first known use of Watergate was in the 13th century

See more words from the same century