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

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Differential subsidence is not only threatening railways, the researchers found, but all kinds of other critical infrastructure, like levees and airports. —Matt Simon, WIRED, 10 Apr. 2024

Weeks before the Boston Red Sox traded him to the New York Yankees, Ruth wowed an overflow crowd of 5,500, including fans who crowded on a levee that used to run behind the ballpark along Y Street, with his pregame batting-practice moon shots. —Joe Davidson, Sacramento Bee, 4 Apr. 2024

New Orleans experienced widespread inundation when levees failed during Hurricane Katrina in 2005. —Rong-Gong Lin Ii, Los Angeles Times, 11 Feb. 2024

Maps of the lava flows from March 20-26 show how they have mostly been diverted by the walls and levees built to the north and west of Grindavík. —Erik Klemetti, Discover Magazine, 27 Mar. 2024

Kyle said the city plans to spend $3.2 million from the American Rescue Plan and state funding to dredge the lagoon and raise its levees this summer. —Daniel Wu, Washington Post, 20 Mar. 2024

After that, the earthen levees meant to protect the island from floodwater can come down, which will open up that land to development. —Harrison Mantas, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 15 Mar. 2024

After the levee break flooded Leonardo Torres-Gonzalez’s street, the moisture from the rain and stagnant water led to the black mold plaguing his apartment. —Luis Melecio-Zambrano, The Mercury News, 10 Mar. 2024

Indeed, there are more than a thousand miles of levees in the delta, and many are not in condition to withstand significant storm surges or shaking from an earthquake. —Hayley Smith, Los Angeles Times, 29 Feb. 2024

Verb

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

The joint state-federal Flood Operations Center, which has been activated since early March, is also continuing to respond to levee concerns along the San Joaquin River and its tributaries, said Arrich, of water resources department. —Hayley Smith, Los Angeles Times, 5 Apr. 2023

That will slightly reduce the flow out of the river, but work to build up the wall to levee height is expected to take one to two weeks, Monterey County said. —Phil Helsel, NBC News, 15 Mar. 2023

Not to federal officials who decades ago flagged the Pajaro River earthen levee as needing repair. —Nora Mishanec, San Francisco Chronicle, 14 Mar. 2023

At its meeting on March 1, the council voted in favor of the proposal, which would enable town staff to more quickly levee the fines, avoiding the current process which requires multiple complaints, and judicial actions that sometimes take months. —Steve Smith, courant.com, 19 Mar. 2021

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

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