Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A series of scandals occurring during the Nixon administration in which members of the executive branch organized illegal political espionage against their perceived opponents and were charged with violation of the public trust, bribery, contempt of Congress, and attempted obstruction of justice.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A gateway through which water passes, or a gate by which it may be ex cluded or confined; a flood-gate.
- noun A gate by which access is gained to a river, fountain, well, or other body or supply of water.
- noun A water-plug or valve.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- A gate, or valve, by which a flow of water is permitted, prevented, or regulated.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- proper noun An American
political scandal (beginning with aburglary in the Watergate Hotel inWashington, DC in 1972) that eventually led to theresignation of USPresident Richard Nixon.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun regulator consisting of a valve or gate that controls the rate of water flow through a sluice
- noun a political scandal involving abuse of power and bribery and obstruction of justice; led to the resignation of Richard Nixon in 1974
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Don, even the term Watergate was brought up today in the hearings, believe it or not.
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Thanks in part to the investigative efforts of reporters Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward, the term Watergate came to signify a scandal involving the misuse of power; and a decade later journalists were still using phrases such as industrial Watergate, French Watergate, and Irish Watergate to label corruption in high places.
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I believe that the constant use of that background by my colleagues and myself, long after anything was happening in that building, was what gave the scandal the name Watergate.
Staying Tuned Daniel Schorr 2001
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I believe that the constant use of that background by my colleagues and myself, long after anything was happening in that building, was what gave the scandal the name Watergate.
Staying Tuned Daniel Schorr 2001
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I believe that the constant use of that background by my colleagues and myself, long after anything was happening in that building, was what gave the scandal the name Watergate.
Staying Tuned Daniel Schorr 2001
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These are what often come to mind when people hear the word Watergate.
CNN.com 2012
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“Damn you DNC for having offices in Watergate, now every “scandal” is ended with a gate on it.”
Think Progress » Palin blames ‘Gore-gate’ for ‘this snake oil science stuff.’ 2010
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Nixon went down in Watergate, of course, and I have to say, reading about the closing years of Jack Anderson's journalistic career is kind of sad.
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So Nixon's paranoia really goes back to the very beginning, and the paranoia that would ultimately bring his destruction in Watergate had some basis in fact.
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Damn you DNC for having offices in Watergate, now every “scandal” is ended with a gate on it.
Think Progress » Palin blames ‘Gore-gate’ for ‘this snake oil science stuff.’ 2010
ruzuzu commented on the word Watergate
"I can't stand it. I know you planned it.
I'mma set it straight, this Watergate.
I can't stand rocking when I'm in here--
'Cause your crystal ball ain't so crystal clear."
--Beastie Boys, "Sabotage"
March 19, 2011