watergate

English - English

Definition of watergate in English English dictionary

An American political scandal (beginning with a burglary in the Watergate Hotel in Washington, DC in 1972) that eventually led to resignation of US President Richard Nixon

a gate opening onto water, or only or mainly accessible by water

Watergate salad

any scandal usually involving: a) the abuse of ones own, or two or more acting-in-tandem peoples own, occupational position(s) (frequently involving one or more public officials and/or involving a person or persons who significantly jeopardize the trust or resources of the public or of a major nonpublic organization - and very frequently involving one or more significant elected public officials and/or involving one or more high appointed public officials); b) underhanded behavior; and c) a cover-up

{i} political scandal involving the administration of the United States President Nixon in 1972

a famous political scandal in the US in the early 1970s that caused President Nixon to leave his job before Congress could impeach him (=charge him with a serious crime) . It was discovered that Nixon had agreed to an attempt to obtain information about the Democratic Party's plans for the next election, by secretly going into their offices in the Watergate hotel in Washington D.C. Nixon later tried to prevent this information from being discovered. The Senate asked to hear recordings that Nixon had made of conversations in his office, but when they received them, parts of conversations seemed to have been deliberately removed. These recordings became known as the 'Watergate tapes'.The Watergate Affair shocked people in the US, and made them less willing to trust their political leaders. Because of these events, other political scandals are often given a name ending in '-gate', for example Irangate

{i} floodgate; gate giving access to water

a political scandal involving abuse of power and bribery and obstruction of justice; led to the resignation of Richard Nixon in 1974

Related Terms

Watergate salad

A sweet-tasting dessert salad made by combining pistachio-flavoured instant pudding, whipped topping, crushed pineapple, and small marshmallows, and possibly other ingredients

Watergate salads

plural form of Watergate salad

Watergate scandal

(1972-74) Political scandal involving illegal activities by Pres. Richard Nixon's administration. In June 1972 five burglars were arrested after breaking into the Democratic Party's national headquarters at the Watergate Hotel complex in Washington, D.C. Within a few days of their arrest at the Watergate, charges of burglary and wiretapping were brought against the five and two others, including a former White House aide and G. Gordon Liddy, general counsel for the Committee to Reelect the President. Nixon and his aides steadfastly denied that anyone in the administration had been involved, despite persistent press reports to the contrary, and in November 1972 Nixon was easily reelected. In January 1973 the trial of the burglars was held before Judge John Sirica; five pleaded guilty and two were convicted by a jury. Sirica's direct questioning of witnesses revealed details of a cover-up by H.R. Haldeman, John D. Ehrlichman, and John W. Dean. They and Attorney General Richard G. Kleindienst resigned in April. The new attorney general, Elliot L. Richardson (1920-98), appointed Archibald Cox (b. 1912) as special prosecutor. A Senate committee under Samuel Ervin held televised hearings in which the existence of tapes of conversations in the president's office was disclosed. Cox and Ervin subpoenaed the tapes, but Nixon refused to relinquish them and ordered Cox fired (Oct. 20, 1973). Richardson resigned in protest, and the public outcry eventually forced Nixon to surrender the tapes (December 8), which revealed clear signs of his involvement in the cover-up. In July 1974 the Judiciary Committee of the House of Representatives passed three articles of impeachment against Nixon. On August 5 Nixon supplied three tapes that clearly implicated him in the cover-up. Though Nixon continued to insist that he had not committed any offenses, he resigned on Aug. 8, 1974. He was pardoned a month later by his successor, Gerald Ford

Hyphenation

Wa·ter·gate

Turkish pronunciation

wôtırgeyt

Pronunciation

/ˈwôtərˌgāt/ /ˈwɔːtɜrˌɡeɪt/

Etymology

[ -"gAt ] (noun.) 1973. From the name of the Watergate Hotel