as in trapdoor
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Recent Examples of portcullis
The entrance to the car park even passes under a portcullis and guests’ bags go through an X-ray machine hidden in the rock-face.
—
Caroline Reid, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025
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
Caroline Reid, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for portcullis
Noun
-
The gas would fill a box that was divided in two by a wall with a trapdoor.—
Quanta Magazine,
Quanta Magazine,
1 Oct. 2025
-
Concluding Thought Since a personal guarantee is a pledge of all one's worldly non-exempt assets to back the underlying loan, a personal guarantee is basically a financial noose that one puts their head into and then waits to see if the trapdoor opens.—
Jay Adkisson,
Forbes.com,
9 July 2025
Noun
-
Maintaining positive ties with South Korea’s President Lee Jae Myung would continue the lattice-like foreign policy encouraged by Washington, one that favors multilateral cooperation among like-minded nations over bilateral dependence.—
Hanako Montgomery,
CNN Money,
27 Oct. 2025
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The faith in order and proportion embodied in the Alhambra, the romance of modernity caught in the Eiffel Tower’s lattice of iron—these are not ideas imposed on buildings but ideals that the buildings themselves express, more lastingly than words can.—
Adam Gopnik,
New Yorker,
25 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Yes, that Palazzo di Amore, the same opulent megamansion where Twitch superstar Kai Cenat has been livestreaming with a revolving door of A-list guests since September.—
Abby Montanez,
Robb Report,
17 Oct. 2025
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The space between them, however, has been a revolving door of restaurants over that time.—
Angelika Ytuarte,
jsonline.com,
17 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
That volume, paired with his control and wicket-taking threat, is what Australia would miss most.—
Sukhman Singh,
New York Times,
19 Oct. 2025
-
Green Street’s impressive large white arches — referred to as wickets and reaching 25 feet in height — also incorporate design elements of Everything Changes with a Dream with maple-leaf patterns similar to the large sculpture.—
Janice Phelan,
Kansas City Star,
11 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Portcullis.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/portcullis. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.
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