Gatekeeping is the habit of keeping outsiders away from your hobby, a favourite place or useful information. The person decides who is worthy: they mock newcomers, test people to see if they're real fans, or won't say where they bought something. The tone is usually disapproving: stop gatekeeping means “stop hiding it”. But it can also be a playful boast: I'm gatekeeping this café means “I won't say where this café is, or everyone will go there”.
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gatekeep + hobby/place/info; stop gatekeeping (+ noun); that's gatekeeping; I'm gatekeeping this (as a joke)
- you don't need to know every album to be a fan, stop gatekeeping
- she won't say where she got that jacket, total gatekeeping
- found the best ramen place in town, but i'm gatekeeping it for now
What changed
First versionStop to gatekeep the recipe and just tell us!
RevisionStop gatekeeping the recipe and just tell us!
After stop, a verb with to means stopping in order to do something: stop to gatekeep means “stop so that you can start hiding the recipe”. To say that someone should stop doing something, English uses stop + -ing: stop gatekeeping.
In serious writing, the word has a neutral meaning, controlling access: The receptionist acts as a gatekeeper for the director, meaning the receptionist decides who gets to see the director. There's no criticism here. Keep the slang meaning for chats and social media; in an IELTS essay or an email to a colleague, say exclude newcomers or keep information to yourself.
Your turn
One guy in the fan chat kept asking newcomers quiz questions to prove they were real fans. That's pure ___.
Show the answer
gatekeeping — The guy decides for himself who counts as a real fan and scares newcomers away: that's gatekeeping. Gaslighting means making someone doubt their own memory, and here nobody is arguing about what happened.
Describe a time someone didn't want to share something useful: say what exactly they kept secret (a place, a thing or information), and use gatekeeping or gatekeep.
My friend refuses to tell me which shop sells her amazing boots, and honestly that's gatekeeping.
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