water gate: Meaning and Definition of

wa'ter gate"

1. a gate for halting or controlling the flow of water in a watercourse; floodgate.
2. a gateway leading to the edge of a body of water, as at a landing.

Wa•ter•gate

1. a White House political scandal that came to light during the 1972 presidential campaign, growing out of a break-in at the Democratic party headquarters at the Watergate apartment-office complex in Washington, D.C., and, after Congressional hearings, culminating in the resignation of President Nixon in 1974.
2. any scandal involving abuses of power, corruption, or the like, and attempts to cover them up.