-gate

1.
a combining form extracted from Watergate, occurring as the final element in journalistic coinages, usually nonce words, that name scandals resulting from concealed crime or other alleged improprieties in government or business:
Koreagate.
British Dictionary definitions for -gate

-gate

combining form
1.
indicating a person or thing that has been the cause of, or is associated with, a public scandal: Irangate, Camillagate
Word Origin
C20: on the analogy of Watergate
Word Origin and History for -gate

suffix attached to any word to indicate "scandal involving," 1973, abstracted from Watergate, the Washington, D.C., building complex, home of the National Headquarters of the Democratic Party when it was burglarized June 17, 1972, by operatives later found to be working for the staff and re-election campaign of U.S. President Richard Nixon.

Slang definitions & phrases for -gate

-gate

combining word

An exposed affair of corruption, venality, etc, of the sort indicated: Allengate/ Billygate/ Koreagate/ Lancegate/ Irangate

[1970s+; fr the Watergate scandal of the early 1970s]