levee
1 of 3noun (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
Gladys B. Sternlevee
2 of 3noun (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 3verb
lev·ee ˈle-vē
leveed; leveeing
transitive verb
: to provide with a levee
Synonyms
Noun (2)
- dam
- dike
- embankment
- head
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
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
le·vee ˈle-vē
: a bank built along a river to prevent flooding
levees
noun
1
as in dams
a bank of earth constructed to control water the raging floodwaters were too much for the levee to handle Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- dams
- embankments
- dikes
- canals
- ramparts
- barriers
- barricades
- ditches
- seawalls
- locks
- breakwaters
- weirs
- jetties
- heads
- gutters
- channels
- earthworks
- breastworks
- bulwarks
- troughs
- blocks
- sluices
- barrages
- floodgates
- stanks
- milldams
2
as in wharves
a structure used by boats and ships for taking on or landing cargo and passengers we tied the boat up at the levee and started unloading the fish we had caught Synonyms & Similar Words
- wharves
- piers
- docks
- wharfs
- quays
- jetties
- landings
- floats
- quais
- moorings
- marinas
- shipyards
- berths
- dockyards
- embarcaderos
- slips
- wharfages
- quayages