Gate vs. Door: What's the Difference?
Edited by Harlon Moss || By Janet White || Updated on October 2, 2023
A "Gate" typically grants access through a fence or wall, often outdoors. A "Door" usually allows entrance into a room or building, primarily indoors. Different in usage and typical location, both serve to control access and egress.
Key Differences
A "Gate" often implies a structure that provides access through a boundary, such as a fence or a wall, typically found outdoors. Comparatively, a "Door" is generally an access point, mostly located within buildings or vehicles, serving as an entrance or exit to enclosed spaces. Both function as means to enter or exit, yet they’re distinctive in the context of their placement and use.
Gates, in their various forms and structures, are generally more robust and larger than doors to accommodate larger passage such as vehicles. Doors, on the other hand, are often smaller and more varied in materials and designs, primarily catering to pedestrian use. Thus, gates often guard entry points to larger enclosures like property, while doors protect the privacy and security of indoor spaces.
When exploring utility, a "Gate" is more than just a passage; it can symbolize a checkpoint or a formal entry point, like in airports or exclusive properties. Meanwhile, a "Door" primarily functions as a passage between rooms, or between the outdoors and indoors, and may not always serve as a stringent checkpoint. Therefore, the gate often presents an initial level of security or screening, while a door provides a secondary level of access.
Both "Gate" and "Door" carry symbolic meanings in language and culture, representing opportunities or barriers depending on the context. Gates often symbolize a grand or formal entry and could represent new beginnings or opportunities. Doors might symbolize more personal or intimate access, often used metaphorically to discuss opportunities or potential in a more individual or intimate context. The nuance in their usage thus goes beyond the physical realm and taps into metaphorical and symbolic expressions.
Comparison Chart
Basic Definition
A barrier used to close an opening in a wall, fence, or hedge
A hinged or sliding barrier securing an entrance to a building, room, or vehicle
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Use in Idiomatic Expression
"At heaven’s gate" suggests nearing death or a spiritual realm
"Behind closed doors" implies activities done in private
Associated Verbs
Swing, open, close, unlock
Open, shut, knock, unlock
Compound/Modified Words
Gateway, gatekeeper
Doorway, doorknob, doorstep
Synonyms
Entrance, entry
Entrance, portal, entryway
Gate and Door Definitions
Gate
A particular point or level in a process or set of circumstances.
The student passed the first gate of the competition but failed the next.
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Door
A protective barrier in a vehicle or aircraft.
The car's door was dented in the accident.
Gate
A means of access or entrance.
The airport has ten departure gates.
Door
A hinged, sliding, or revolving barrier at the entrance to a building, room, or vehicle.
She knocked on the wooden door before entering.
Gate
A device in electronic circuits for controlling the passage of signals.
The logic gate processes binary input to produce specific outputs.
Door
Passage; means of approach or access.
I am the door; by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved.
Gate
A hinged or sliding barrier for controlling the flow of water.
The dam's gate was opened to release excess water.
Door
A movable structure used to close off an entrance, typically consisting of a panel that swings on hinges or that slides or rotates.
Gate
A structure that can be swung, drawn, or lowered to block an entrance or a passageway.
Door
A similar part on a piece of furniture or a vehicle.
Gate
An opening in a wall or fence for entrance or exit.
Door
A doorway.
Gate
The structure surrounding such an opening, such as the monumental or fortified entrance to a palace or walled city.
Door
The room or building to which a door belongs:They live three doors down the hall.
Gate
A doorway or walkway in a terminal, as at an airport, through which passengers proceed when embarking or disembarking.
Door
A means of approach or access:looking for the door to success.
Gate
A waiting area inside a terminal, abutting such a doorway or walkway.
Door
(Slang)To strike (a passing bicyclist, for example) by suddenly opening a vehicular door.
Gate
A means of access
The gate to riches.
Door
To serve as a doorman or doorwoman of (a nightclub, for example).
Gate
A mountain pass.
Door
A portal of entry into a building, room, or vehicle, typically consisting of a rigid plane movable on a hinge. Doors are frequently made of wood or metal. May have a handle to help open and close, a latch to hold the door closed, and a lock that ensures the door cannot be opened without the key.
I knocked on the vice president's door
Gate
The total paid attendance or admission receipts at a public event
A good gate at the football game.
Door
Any flap, etc. that opens like a door.
The 24 doors in an Advent calendar
Gate
A device for controlling the passage of water or gas through a dam or conduit.
Door
(immigration) An entry point.
Gate
The channel through which molten metal flows into a shaped cavity of a mold.
Door
(figurative) A means of approach or access.
Learning is the door to wisdom.
Gate
(Sports) A passage between two upright poles through which a skier must go in a slalom race.
Door
(figurative) A possibility.
To leave the door open
All doors are open to somebody
Gate
A logic gate.
Door
(figurative) A barrier.
Keep a door on your anger.
Gate
A path or way.
Door
A software mechanism by which a user can interact with a program running remotely on a bulletin board system. See BBS door.
Gate
A particular way of acting or doing; manner.
Door
The proceeds from entrance fees and/or ticket sales at a venue such as a bar or nightclub, especially in relation to portion paid to the entertainers. "The bar owner gives each band a percentage of the door and charges customers more to get in"
Gate
Chiefly British To confine (a student) to the grounds of a college as punishment.
Door
To cause a collision by opening the door of a vehicle in front of an oncoming cyclist or pedestrian.
Gate
(Electronics) To select part of (a wave) for transmission, reception, or processing by magnitude or time interval.
Door
An opening in the wall of a house or of an apartment, by which to go in and out; an entrance way.
To the same end, men several paths may tread,As many doors into one temple lead.
Gate
To furnish with a gate
"The entrance to the rear lawn was also gated" (Dean Koontz).
Door
The frame or barrier of boards, or other material, usually turning on hinges, by which an entrance way into a house or apartment is closed and opened.
At last he came unto an iron doorThat fast was locked.
Gate
A doorlike structure outside a house.
Door
An entrance way, but taken in the sense of the house or apartment to which it leads.
Martin's office is now the second door in the street.
A riot unpunished is but next door to a tumult.
His imaginary title of fatherhood is out of doors.
If I have failed, the fault lies wholly at my door.
Gate
Doorway, opening, or passage in a fence or wall.
Door
A swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle;
He knocked on the door
He slammed the door as he left
Gate
Movable barrier.
The gate in front of the railroad crossing went up after the train had passed.
Door
The entrance (the space in a wall) through which you enter or leave a room or building; the space that a door can close;
He stuck his head in the doorway
Gate
Passageway (as in an air terminal) where passengers can embark or disembark.
Door
Anything providing a means of access (or escape);
We closed the door to Haitian immigrants
Education is the door to success
Gate
A location which serves as a conduit for transport, migration, or trade.
Door
A structure where people live or work (usually ordered along a street or road);
The office next door
They live two doors up the street from us
Gate
The amount of money made by selling tickets to a concert or a sports event.
Door
A room that is entered via a door;
His office is the third door down the hall on the left
Gate
(computing) A logical pathway made up of switches which turn on or off. Examples are and, or, nand, etc.
Door
A means of access or participation; opportunity.
Education opened the door to many opportunities for her.
Gate
(electronics) The controlling terminal of a field effect transistor (FET).
Door
The distance from one building in a row to another.
The shop is just three doors down the street.
Gate
In a lock tumbler, the opening for the stump of the bolt to pass through or into.
Door
The leaf or shutter of a hatchway or window.
The oven door needs to be shut tightly to maintain temperature.
Gate
(metalworking) The channel or opening through which metal is poured into the mould; the ingate.
Gate
The waste piece of metal cast in the opening; a sprue or sullage piece. Also written geat and git.
Gate
(cricket) The gap between a batsman's bat and pad.
Singh was bowled through the gate, a very disappointing way for a world-class batsman to get out.
Gate
(cinematography) A mechanism, in a film camera and projector, that holds each frame momentarily stationary behind the aperture.
Gate
(flow cytometry) A line that separates particle type-clusters on two-dimensional dot plots.
Gate
A tally mark consisting of four vertical bars crossed by a diagonal, representing a count of five.
Gate
A way, path.
Gate
(obsolete) A journey.
Gate
A street; now used especially as a combining form to make the name of a street e.g. "Briggate" (a common street name in the north of England meaning "Bridge Street") or Kirkgate meaning "Church Street".
Gate
Manner; gait.
Gate
(transitive) To keep something inside by means of a closed gate.
Gate
(transitive) To punish, especially a child or teenager, by not allowing them to go out.
Gate
To open a closed ion channel.
Gate
(transitive) To furnish with a gate.
Gate
(transitive) To turn (an image intensifier) on and off selectively as needed, or to avoid damage from excessive light exposure. See autogating.
Gate
A large door or passageway in the wall of a city, of an inclosed field or place, or of a grand edifice, etc.; also, the movable structure of timber, metal, etc., by which the passage can be closed.
Gate
An opening for passage in any inclosing wall, fence, or barrier; or the suspended framework which closes or opens a passage. Also, figuratively, a means or way of entrance or of exit.
Knowest thou the way to Dover?Both stile and gate, horse way and footpath.
Opening a gate for a long war.
Gate
A door, valve, or other device, for stopping the passage of water through a dam, lock, pipe, etc.
Gate
The places which command the entrances or access; hence, place of vantage; power; might.
The gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
Gate
In a lock tumbler, the opening for the stump of the bolt to pass through or into.
Gate
The channel or opening through which metal is poured into the mold; the ingate.
Gate
A way; a path; a road; a street (as in Highgate).
I was going to be an honest man; but the devil has this very day flung first a lawyer, and then a woman, in my gate.
Gate
Manner; gait.
Gate
To supply with a gate.
Gate
To punish by requiring to be within the gates at an earlier hour than usual.
Gate
A door-like movable barrier in a fence or wall
Gate
A computer circuit with several inputs but only one output that can be activated by particular combinations of inputs
Gate
Total admission receipts at a sports event
Gate
Passageway (as in an air terminal) where passengers can embark or disembark
Gate
Supply with a gate;
The house was gated
Gate
Control with a valve or other device that functions like a gate
Gate
Restrict (school boys') movement to the dormitory or campus as a means of punishment
Gate
A structure that can be swung, drawn, or slid to block an entrance or a pathway.
The farmer closed the gate to keep the sheep in the field.
FAQs
Can "gate" refer to an airport terminal access?
Yes, it can mean the area where passengers board or disembark from flights.
What does "gatecrash" mean?
To "gatecrash" means to attend an event without an invitation.
Is a "turnstile" a type of gate?
Yes, it's a gate with revolving arms that controls pedestrian access, often seen in subway stations.
What does the term "gateway" imply?
"Gateway" can refer to an entrance or means of access, and also metaphorically as a means to achieve something.
What is a "doorbell"?
It's a device beside a door that can be rung to signal someone's presence outside.
Is "gate" primarily used for outdoor or indoor barriers?
It's primarily used for outdoor barriers, like in fences or walls.
How does "backdoor" function in tech jargon?
In tech, a "backdoor" is a means of bypassing standard authentication in a system, often for unauthorized access.
What does "door-to-door" mean?
It refers to direct transport from one location to another or a sales approach where salespeople visit homes directly.
Can "gate" be used in sports terminology?
Yes, especially in horse racing and skiing, it can refer to a starting point or to barriers competitors must navigate.
What is a "logic gate" in electronics?
It's a device that performs a logical operation on one or more binary inputs to produce a single output.
Is "gatekeeper" a literal or metaphorical term?
It can be both. Literally, it refers to someone guarding a gate; metaphorically, it denotes someone controlling access to information or resources.
Can "gate" mean a scandal?
Yes, in modern slang, "-gate" as a suffix suggests a scandal, derived from the Watergate scandal.
Is a "doorway" the same as a door?
Not exactly. While a door is the actual barrier, a "doorway" is the opening where the door is situated.
Are doors primarily for indoor or outdoor barriers?
Doors can be both, serving as barriers to rooms (indoor) or to buildings (outdoor).
What is a "revolving door"?
It's a type of door that rotates around a central axis, commonly found in commercial buildings.
Can "door" be used metaphorically?
Yes, e.g., "a door of opportunity" means a chance or opening for progress.
How is "doorstep" related to "door"?
A "doorstep" is the step or steps leading up to a door.
What does "agate" mean?
"Agate" is a type of quartz, not related to "gate" the barrier.
What does "behind closed doors" imply?
It means in private or without public knowledge or scrutiny.
What's the meaning of "next door"?
It refers to an adjacent or neighboring location, like the house next to yours.
About Author
Written by
Janet WhiteJanet White has been an esteemed writer and blogger for Difference Wiki. Holding a Master's degree in Science and Medical Journalism from the prestigious Boston University, she has consistently demonstrated her expertise and passion for her field. When she's not immersed in her work, Janet relishes her time exercising, delving into a good book, and cherishing moments with friends and family.
Edited by
Harlon MossHarlon is a seasoned quality moderator and accomplished content writer for Difference Wiki. An alumnus of the prestigious University of California, he earned his degree in Computer Science. Leveraging his academic background, Harlon brings a meticulous and informed perspective to his work, ensuring content accuracy and excellence.
