gate, in hydraulic engineering, movable barrier for controlling the passage of fluid through a channel or sluice. River and canal locks have a pair of gates at each end. When closed, the gates meet at an obtuse angle that points upstream in order to resist the water pressure. When opened, they swing into recesses in the walls of the lock. Gates also regulate the outflow of water from storage reservoirs and through, around, or over dams. Leaf gates, planes perpendicular to the direction of fluid flow, open either by swinging about one hinged side or by sliding upward. Radial gates are segments of cylinders that lift entirely clear of the water. The rolling gate, often used on the crest of a dam, is raised by rolling it up the inclined face of a pier.