levee
/ˈlevi/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈlevi/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈle-vē lə-ˈvē, -ˈvā/ (ame, mw)
levee — noun
- leveesingular
- leveesplural
1. a long raised wall of earth, stone, or concrete that runs beside a river, lake,
a long raised wall of earth, stone, or concrete that runs beside a river, lake, or sea, built so that water cannot rise over the edge and flood the land behind it.
Heavy rain pushed the river so high that the levee began leaking in three places.
subject = natural cause; verb pattern: levee + leak/hold/break
After Hurricane Katrina, engineers in New Orleans rebuilt every levee around the city.
collocation: rebuild / strengthen / inspect a levee
Layla walked her dog along the grassy levee that protected the village from the river.
Workers stacked thousands of sandbags on top of the levee before the storm arrived.
If this levee breaks, water will reach the town within an hour.
- embankment
more general; any built-up ridge of earth, including those carrying roads or railways
- dike
near-synonym; Dutch coastal contexts strongly prefer 'dike'
- flood wall
specifically concrete and vertical, while a levee is usually sloping earth
文法句型
a levee along/around [river or area]
用法筆記
Most common in American English, especially for the earthen flood walls along the Mississippi River. British texts more often use 'embankment' or 'flood bank'.
常見錯誤
2. a flat, paved or wooden surface along a riverbank used as a stopping point so th
a flat, paved or wooden surface along a riverbank used as a stopping point so that boats can drop off passengers and unload goods.
Steamboats once tied up at the New Orleans levee to unload cotton and sugar.
tie up at the levee + unload [cargo]
Rodrigo waited at the levee for the morning ferry to take him across the river.
wait at the levee for [boat]
The old wooden levee was crowded with merchants selling fruit to passengers on the riverboat.
Children jumped off the levee into the warm river water during the summer holidays.
文法句型
at the levee
tie up at the levee
用法筆記
Largely an Americanism, especially in Mississippi River literature and 19th-century travel writing. Distinguish from sense 1: that meaning protects from flooding, while this is a working dock surface.
3. a formal social gathering held by a ruler, ambassador, or other very high-rankin
a formal social gathering held by a ruler, ambassador, or other very high-ranking person, originally in the morning, where invited guests are received and presented.
Each spring the governor held a grand levee for visiting diplomats at the colonial palace.
hold a levee for [guests]
Vikram studied an old painting that showed the king greeting bishops at his morning levee.
morning levee — the historical timing
Only officers in full dress uniform were permitted to attend the royal levee.
Lord Carter's daughter wore a white silk gown to her first levee at the embassy.
文法句型
hold a levee
attend a levee
用法筆記
Mainly historical or literary today. Often appears in writing about 18th- and 19th-century courts, especially British and colonial American ones. Pronounced /ˈlɛvi/ or /ləˈviː/, distinct from the French ballet term.
levee — verb
- leveepresent simple I / you / we / they
- levees3rd person singular
- leveeing-ing form
- leveedpast simple
1. to construct an earthen flood wall along the side of a river or low area so that
to construct an earthen flood wall along the side of a river or low area so that the water cannot spread out onto the surrounding land.
The state government decided to levee the entire stretch of river south of Memphis.
levee + [stretch of river / area]
Farmers in the delta have leveed their fields for over a hundred years to protect the crops.
perfect tense: have leveed [areas] for [time]
Engineers will levee both banks of the canal before the spring melt begins.
Once the channel was leveed, the surrounding rice paddies stopped flooding every June.
文法句型
levee + [river or land]
用法筆記
Almost exclusively American and largely technical or historical. In everyday writing, paraphrase with 'build levees along' or 'build flood walls along' instead.