Meanings
- informalAmerican footballA 2002 controversy where Terry Owens signed a football with a Sharpie hidden in his sock.
THERE WILL be no Sharpiegate to distract the 49ers this week. Terrell Owens' latest hand grenade was not only defused, it turned out not to be explosive at all.
2002 October 16, David Steele, “The pen is mightier than 49ers, as long as it's in the end zone”, in SFGate - informalA 2019 controversy around US president Donald Trump presenting a modified weather map indicating that Alabama would be hit by Hurricane Dorian, in opposition to official forecasts.
But Maue has dinged Trump administration officials as well—notably those who were involved in a mini-scandal known as "Sharpiegate."
2020 September 22, Scott Waldman, “Climate science critic to be chief scientist at key U.S. climate research agency”, in Science4 more examples
The US secretary of commerce, Wilbur Ross, is facing calls for his resignation after it was reported that he had threatened to fire senior staff at a federal agency unless they sided publicly with Donald Trump in the rumbling dispute dubbed “Sharpiegate”.
2019 September 10, Ed Pilkington, “Wilbur Ross faces calls to resign after report he threatened firings over 'Sharpiegate'”, in The GuardianThe President then doubled down on his claim that Alabama was at risk. On Sept. 4, he gave an update on the storm while sitting in front of a map that appeared to have been altered with a black marker to make it seem like Alabama might be hit. Public backlash ensued, and the moment was swiftly deemed #sharpiegate on social media.
2020 February 1, Madeleine Carlisle, “Newly-Released NOAA Emails Show Anger and Confusion Around Trump’s ‘Doctored’ Hurricane Dorian Map”, in TIME, archived from the original on 05 Apr 2020Emails obtained by The Hill and other news outlets through a Freedom of Information Act request show some scientists were flabbergasted at the president's actions in the so-called Sharpiegate controversy, and that they worried about other steps that might be taken.
2020 February 3, Rachel Frazin, “Emails show weather service employees were frustrated by Trump, 'Sharpiegate'”, in The HillIngraham could have admitted that Trump made himself look ridiculous during the "Sharpiegate" fiasco. Instead, she was angry that Goodstein even brought it up.
2020 February 28, Alex Henderson, “Fox News host Laura Ingraham loses it when guest mentions "Sharpiegate" during coronavirus segment”, in Salon - informalA conspiracy theory claiming that ballots marked with Sharpie pens were unfairly disqualified in the 2020 US presidential election.
Origin
From Sharpie + -gate, after the brand of pen.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
Sharpiegate. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Sharpiegate
“Sharpiegate.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Sharpiegate. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Sharpiegate,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Sharpiegate.
Source: Sharpiegate on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.