Nota: La traducción de esta entrada está actualmente en revisión de calidad, por lo que parte del contenido se muestra temporalmente solo en inglés.
Esta entrada aún no se ha traducido a tu idioma, así que se muestra el original a continuación.
floodgates
The term is most frequently encountered in the idiomatic phrase "open the floodgates," which describes a sudden, overwhelming surge of events, emotions, or information. This usage carries a connotation of loss of control, suggesting that once the initial barrier is breached, the resulting flow is impossible to stop or regulate.
In its literal sense, the word refers to heavy industrial infrastructure. While the singular "floodgate" exists, the plural form is dominant in both technical and metaphorical contexts to emphasize the scale of the water or the volume of the subsequent release.
Meanings
Examples
The engineers opened the floodgates to lower the reservoir level before the storm hit.
Once she started crying, the floodgates opened and she told him everything.
We must be careful not to open the floodgates to endless requests for funding.
The dam failed and the floodgates were ripped away by the current.
I tried to stay calm, but the floodgates of grief finally burst.
If we allow this one exception, we open the floodgates for everyone else.
Look at those floodgates go. The water is rushing through with incredible force.
The first confession opened the floodgates for other witnesses to come forward.