: a passage for surplus water to run over or around an obstruction (such as a dam)
Examples of spillway in a Sentence
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The spillway was built in 1931 to remove pressure on the levees protecting New Orleans by diverting up to 250,000 cubic feet of fresh water per second into Lake Pontchartrain’s brackish waters.
—
Amy Graff, New York Times, 3 May 2025
The South Florida Water Management District is working with the Army Corps of Engineer and county officials on an expensive plan to put in 20 new pumps and raise spillway gates.
—Bill Kearney, Sun Sentinel, 7 Apr. 2025
The report also accounted for the effect of an additional spillway at New Bullards Bar Dam.
—Jake Goodrick, Sacramento Bee, 15 Mar. 2025
While most dams rely on spillways shaped like chutes or shafts to drain the overage, the dam at Lake Berryessa uses a funnel-like spillway due to lack of space, per local news outlet The Press Democrat.
—Toria Sheffield, People.com, 29 Mar. 2025
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Amy Graff, New York Times, 3 May 2025
The South Florida Water Management District is working with the Army Corps of Engineer and county officials on an expensive plan to put in 20 new pumps and raise spillway gates.
—Bill Kearney, Sun Sentinel, 7 Apr. 2025
The report also accounted for the effect of an additional spillway at New Bullards Bar Dam.
—Jake Goodrick, Sacramento Bee, 15 Mar. 2025
While most dams rely on spillways shaped like chutes or shafts to drain the overage, the dam at Lake Berryessa uses a funnel-like spillway due to lack of space, per local news outlet The Press Democrat.
—Toria Sheffield, People.com, 29 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for spillway
Cite this Entry
“Spillway.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spillway. Accessed 24 May. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
spillway
noun
spill·way
ˈspil-ˌwā 
: a passage for extra water to run over or around a dam
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