: a passage for surplus water to run over or around an obstruction (such as a dam)
Examples of spillway in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Five of the most vulnerable spillways are in Broward County.
—
Bill Kearney, Sun Sentinel, 23 May 2026
Wallmakers needed to connect the two land parcels while keeping the foundation 100 ft within the spillway width, since a JCB excavator needed to be used for clearing the build space.
—Stefan Ionescu
may 20, New Atlas, 20 May 2026
It’s believed that Nourse was fishing in the spillway below the lower dam at Lake Lowell before falling into the water.
—Idaho Statesman, 20 May 2026
That winter, the concrete spillway collapsed in one section during massive storms, prompting the evacuation of 188,000 people as water raged into the river below, and concerns grew that part of the dam might fail.
—Paul Rogers, Mercury News, 12 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for spillway
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Bill Kearney, Sun Sentinel, 23 May 2026
Wallmakers needed to connect the two land parcels while keeping the foundation 100 ft within the spillway width, since a JCB excavator needed to be used for clearing the build space.
—Stefan Ionescu
may 20, New Atlas, 20 May 2026
It’s believed that Nourse was fishing in the spillway below the lower dam at Lake Lowell before falling into the water.
—Idaho Statesman, 20 May 2026
That winter, the concrete spillway collapsed in one section during massive storms, prompting the evacuation of 188,000 people as water raged into the river below, and concerns grew that part of the dam might fail.
—Paul Rogers, Mercury News, 12 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for spillway
Cite this Entry
“Spillway.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spillway. Accessed 17 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
spillway
noun
spill·way
ˈspil-ˌwā 
: a passage for extra water to run over or around a dam
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
