1. a gate or barrier across a road where travelers must pay a toll to pass through
2. a checkpoint or control point that must be passed to proceed
Usage: figurative

Examples

• The old tollgate charged fifty cents for each horse and wagon.
• Cars lined up at the tollgate to pay the highway fee.
• The historic tollgate has been preserved as a museum.
• Drivers avoided the tollgate by taking the scenic route.
• The project must pass through several tollgates before approval.
• Each tollgate in the process requires different documentation.
• The tollgate keeper collected fees from dawn to dusk.