levee

1 of 3

noun (1)

le·​vee ˈle-vē 

lə-ˈvē,

-ˈvā

1

: a reception held by a person of distinction on rising from bed

2

: an afternoon assembly at which the British sovereign or his or her representative receives only men

3

: a reception usually in honor of a particular person

the years of levees and parades and other suave peacetime occasions

—Gladys B. Stern

levee

2 of 3

noun (2)

lev·​ee ˈle-vē 

1

a

: an embankment for preventing flooding

b

: a river landing place : pier

2

: a continuous dike or ridge (as of earth) for confining the irrigation areas of land to be flooded

levee

3 of 3

verb

lev·​ee ˈle-vē 

leveed; leveeing

transitive verb

: to provide with a levee

Synonyms

Noun (2)

• dam
• dike
• embankment
• head

Examples of levee in a Sentence

Noun (2)

the raging floodwaters were too much for the levee to handle

we tied the boat up at the levee and started unloading the fish we had caught

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

In the early 1900s, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began installing canals and levees to control flooding in the Everglades, which allowed people to build farms and communities along its edges. —John Kominoski, The Conversation, 15 Apr. 2025

Dozens of rivers from Arkansas to Indiana were flooding on Sunday, threatening bridges, levees, water and sewage systems, and other infrastructure. —Patrick J. Lyons, New York Times, 7 Apr. 2025

Verb

Areas on the northern periphery of Lake Pontchartrain will be at higher risk for inundation because that part is not as heavily leveed as the southern end. —NBC News, 12 Sep. 2024

The state will shoulder the $17 million needed to raise the 14.5-mile Corcoran levee an additional four feet, protecting the city from rising floodwaters. —Elvia Limón, Los Angeles Times, 13 May 2023

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

French lever, from Middle French, act of arising, from (se) lever to rise

Noun (2)

French levée, from Old French, act of raising, from lever to raise — more at lever

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1672, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (2)

circa 1720, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

1832, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for levee

• bevy
• chevy
• heavy
• levy
• replevy

Kids Definition

levee

noun

lev·​ee

ˈlev-ē

1

: a bank built along a river to prevent flooding

2

: a landing place along a river