1
civil engineering
: an artificial watercourse : ditch
2
civil engineering
a
: a bank (see bank entry 1 sense 1) usually of earth constructed to control or confine water : levee
b
: a barrier preventing passage especially of something undesirable
diked; diking
1
civil engineering
: to surround or protect with a dike (see dike entry 1)
2
civil engineering
: to drain by a dike
diker
noun
civil engineering
Synonyms
Examples of dike in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Chico Harlan, Washington Post, 2 Nov. 2023
As many as 70 percent of the dikes in the Hai River Basin, which encompasses Hebei, are prone to collapse, according to a report released in April from the Haihe Water Conservancy, part of the central government’s Ministry of Water Resources.
—Pei-Lin Wu, Washington Post, 31 Aug. 2023
After 18 years, a $1.5 billion project was officially completed Wednesday to repair the sprawling dike around Lake Okeechobee that protects thousands of people from potentially catastrophic flooding during hurricanes.
—Curt Anderson, Sun Sentinel, 25 Jan. 2023
The dike was originally started after hurricanes in the 1920s caused lake flooding that killed thousands of people in sugar-farming regions including Clewiston, South Bay, Pahokee and Belle Glade.
—Curt Anderson, Sun Sentinel, 25 Jan. 2023
Before today, the EPA could regulate water pollution in wetlands that were separated from another body of water by various natural and non-natural features: Kavanaugh noted in his own opinion that this could include dikes and flood barriers, natural river berms, beach dunes, and so on.
—Matt Ford, The New Republic, 25 May 2023
In 2008, a dike ruptured at the coal plant in Kingston, Tennessee, spilling more than 5 million cubic yards of ash into the Emory and Clinch Rivers.
—Robert Kunzig, The Atlantic, 25 July 2023
Disaster struck in 1926, when a hurricane collapsed part of the dike, drowning hundreds of people.
—New York Times, 9 July 2023
Mostly open to the sun, the trails pass among mesquite patches, desert hackberry shrubs and sections where runoff from the canal dike fosters lush greenery that attracts wildlife.
—Mare Czinar, The Arizona Republic, 31 Mar. 2023
oregonlive, 17 June 2023
In addition to the hundreds of thousands of acres of marshland that were drained or diked off, the researchers discovered former wetlands that now are forested that were unknown to anybody.
—Peter Fimrite, SFChronicle.com, 17 Aug. 2019
Ed Musial blames a series of finger dikes the state installed in the 1980s for channeling the river past their homes.
—Zaz Hollander, Anchorage Daily News, 30 June 2019
The southern banks along Svensen Slough, a side channel of the Columbia River, have transformed over time from historic spruce swamp into fields diked off by European settlers for farming.
—Edward Stratton, The Christian Science Monitor, 2 Apr. 2018
Aerial photos show portions of the land – diked and drained for agriculture by the 1930s and cut in half by US Highway 30 by the 1970s – slowly returning to wetlands as levees broke down and breached.
—Edward Stratton, The Christian Science Monitor, 2 Apr. 2018
The tank area is believed to be diked and lined to contain spilled fuel.
—Zaz Hollander, Anchorage Daily News, 15 Mar. 2018
That was before humans drained and diked estuaries to build cities, grow crops, and make salt.
—National Geographic, 13 June 2017
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Noun
The floodwaters have risen higher than the camp’s surface, which is staved off from ruin only because of miles of dikes, built in haste, with a combination of U.N. and South Sudanese money, two years ago.
—Chico Harlan, Washington Post, 2 Nov. 2023
As many as 70 percent of the dikes in the Hai River Basin, which encompasses Hebei, are prone to collapse, according to a report released in April from the Haihe Water Conservancy, part of the central government’s Ministry of Water Resources.
—Pei-Lin Wu, Washington Post, 31 Aug. 2023
After 18 years, a $1.5 billion project was officially completed Wednesday to repair the sprawling dike around Lake Okeechobee that protects thousands of people from potentially catastrophic flooding during hurricanes.
—Curt Anderson, Sun Sentinel, 25 Jan. 2023
The dike was originally started after hurricanes in the 1920s caused lake flooding that killed thousands of people in sugar-farming regions including Clewiston, South Bay, Pahokee and Belle Glade.
—Curt Anderson, Sun Sentinel, 25 Jan. 2023
Before today, the EPA could regulate water pollution in wetlands that were separated from another body of water by various natural and non-natural features: Kavanaugh noted in his own opinion that this could include dikes and flood barriers, natural river berms, beach dunes, and so on.
—Matt Ford, The New Republic, 25 May 2023
In 2008, a dike ruptured at the coal plant in Kingston, Tennessee, spilling more than 5 million cubic yards of ash into the Emory and Clinch Rivers.
—Robert Kunzig, The Atlantic, 25 July 2023
Disaster struck in 1926, when a hurricane collapsed part of the dike, drowning hundreds of people.
—New York Times, 9 July 2023
Mostly open to the sun, the trails pass among mesquite patches, desert hackberry shrubs and sections where runoff from the canal dike fosters lush greenery that attracts wildlife.
—Mare Czinar, The Arizona Republic, 31 Mar. 2023
Verb
The decision was largely informed by alarmingly low salmon runs as a result of heavily dammed, diked and channeled streams struggling to maintain healthy flows in the face of droughts and warming summers.
—oregonlive, 17 June 2023
In addition to the hundreds of thousands of acres of marshland that were drained or diked off, the researchers discovered former wetlands that now are forested that were unknown to anybody.
—Peter Fimrite, SFChronicle.com, 17 Aug. 2019
Ed Musial blames a series of finger dikes the state installed in the 1980s for channeling the river past their homes.
—Zaz Hollander, Anchorage Daily News, 30 June 2019
The southern banks along Svensen Slough, a side channel of the Columbia River, have transformed over time from historic spruce swamp into fields diked off by European settlers for farming.
—Edward Stratton, The Christian Science Monitor, 2 Apr. 2018
Aerial photos show portions of the land – diked and drained for agriculture by the 1930s and cut in half by US Highway 30 by the 1970s – slowly returning to wetlands as levees broke down and breached.
—Edward Stratton, The Christian Science Monitor, 2 Apr. 2018
The tank area is believed to be diked and lined to contain spilled fuel.
—Zaz Hollander, Anchorage Daily News, 15 Mar. 2018
That was before humans drained and diked estuaries to build cities, grow crops, and make salt.
—National Geographic, 13 June 2017
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These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'dike.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Noun (1) and Verb
Middle English, probably from Old Norse dīk ditch and Middle Low German dīk dam; akin to Old English dīc ditch — more at ditch
First Known Use
Noun (1)
13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Verb
14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Time Traveler
The first known use of dike was
in the 13th century
Dictionary Entries Near dike
Cite this Entry
“Dike.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dike. Accessed 29 Nov. 2023.
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Kids Definition
dike
2 of 2 verb
diked; diking
1
: to surround or protect with a dike
2
: to drain by a dike
diker
noun
More from Merriam-Webster on dike
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about dike
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