head gate

noun

a control gate at the upstream end of a canal or lock.
a floodgate of a race, sluice, etc.

Origin of head gate

An Americanism dating back to 1830–40

Words nearby head gate

head collar, head count, head dip, head fold, head for, head gate, head in the clouds, have one's, head in the sand, head lettuce, head louse, head margin

Example sentences from the Web for head gate

  • It was the sodden fleece of the old ewe, which had been drifted against the head-gate and held there to her death.

    In Exile and Other Stories |Mary Hallock Foote

  • It was the sodden fleece of the old ewe which had been drifted against the "head-gate," and held there to her death.

    Stories by American Authors (Volume 4) |Constance Fenimore Woolson

British Dictionary definitions for head gate

head gate

noun

a gate that is used to control the flow of water at the upper end of a lock or conduit Compare tail gate
another name for floodgate (def. 1)