portcullis

«portcullis» in Mova's school dictionary: A heavy grid of iron or wooden bars that slides down in… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

part of speech

noun (a portcullis, portcullises)

meaning for a pupil

A heavy grid of iron or wooden bars that slides down in grooves to close a castle gateway. tree →

sense in the lessons

In history lessons on medieval castles: the portcullis was dropped to stop attackers, with «murder holes» above the gateway. The portcullis is also a symbol of the UK Parliament. Used in adventure stories and games.

examples

• The guards lowered the portcullis to keep out the enemy. tree →
• The portcullis crashed down just behind the knight. tree →
• We saw the old portcullis at the castle. tree →
• The portcullis was raised with chains and a winch. tree →
• A portcullis appears on the badge of Parliament. tree →
• Arrows flew through the bars of the portcullis. tree →

note

Pronounced port-CULL-is. Plural: portcullises. From old French for «sliding door».

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «portcullis» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.