Gateway: A Way In, for Cities, Drugs and Networks
A gateway is an entrance, and a metaphor English uses constantly. Networks, cities and habits all get called gateways.
A gateway is the opening a gate closes, and by extension any way in. The metaphor has spread further than most: a gateway city is a port of entry, a payment gateway passes money between systems, and a gateway drug is one claimed to open the door to stronger ones — a claim researchers still argue about.
- An entrance with a gate. *A stone gateway.*
- A way into a place or activity. *The gateway to the highlands.*
- A device linking two networks. *Configure the default gateway.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | gateway | An arched gateway. |
| Plural | gateways | Two gateways. |
| Compound | payment gateway | A payment gateway. |
| Compound | gateway drug | The gateway drug theory. |
| Related | portal | A web portal. |
How it is used in a sentence
- The town calls itself the gateway to the lakes.Tourism language.
- Set the default gateway to the router's address.Networking use.
- The course is a gateway to the profession.Meaning a route in.
Openings, distinguished
- Gateway — the opening a gate fits, or a route in
- Doorway — the opening a door fits
- Portal — a grand entrance, or a website that leads elsewhere
- Threshold — the line you cross
- Portcullis — the heavy grille dropped across a castle gateway
A compound of *gate* and *way*, first recorded in the sixteenth century. *Gate* is Old English; in northern England and Scotland it can still mean a street, as in Briggate.
Is the gateway drug theory accepted?
It is disputed. Some studies find a pattern of progression; others argue that shared risk factors explain it better than the drugs themselves.
What does default gateway mean?
The device your computer sends traffic to when the destination is outside your own network, usually your router.