level

American  

[lev-uhl] / ˈlɛv əl /

adjective

1. having no part higher than another; having a flat or even surface.

   Synonyms:

   flush

   Antonyms:

   uneven

2. being in a plane parallel to the plane of the horizon; horizontal.

   Synonyms:

   flush

   Antonyms:

   vertical

3. equal, as one thing with another or two or more things with one another.

4. even, equable, or uniform.

5. filled to a height even with the rim of a container.

   a level teaspoon of salt.

6. mentally well-balanced; sensible; rational.

   to keep a level head in a crisis.

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noun

• levels
  plural

1. a device used for determining or adjusting something to a horizontal surface.

2. Surveying.

   1. Also called surveyor's level.  an instrument for observing levels, having a sighting device, usually telescopic, and capable of being made precisely horizontal.

   2. an observation made with this instrument.

   3. spirit level.

3. an imaginary line or surface everywhere at right angles to the plumb line.

4. the horizontal line or plane in which anything is situated, with regard to its elevation.

5. a horizontal position or condition.

6. an extent of land approximately horizontal and unbroken by irregularities.

7. a level or flat surface.

8. a position with respect to a given or specified height.

   The water rose to a level of 30 feet.

9. a position or plane in a graded scale of values; status; rank: They associated only with those on their own economic level.

   His acting was on the level of an amateur.

   They associated only with those on their own economic level.

10. an extent, measure, or degree of intensity, achievement, etc..

    a high level of sound; an average level of writing skill.

11. Linguistics. a major subdivision of linguistic structure, as phonology, morphology, or syntax, often viewed as hierarchically ordered.

12. Mining. the interconnected horizontal mine workings at a particular elevation or depth.

    There had been a cave-in on the 1,500-foot level.

13. (in a video game or role-playing game)

    1. a discrete section in game design or narrative that ends with a culminating event, as a boss battle.

    2. character level.

verb (used with object)

leveled, leveling, levelled, levelling

1. to make (a surface) level, even, or flat.

   to level ground before building.

   Synonyms:

   flatten, smooth

2. to raise or lower to a particular level or position; to make horizontal.

3. to bring (something) to the level of the ground; raze.

   They leveled the trees to make way for the new highway.

   Synonyms:

   destroy, demolish, raze

4. Informal. to knock down (a person).

   He leveled his opponent with one blow.

5. to make equal, as in status or condition.

   Synonyms:

   equalize

6. to make even or uniform, as coloring.

7. Historical Linguistics. (of the alternative forms of a paradigm) to reduce in number or regularize.

   Old English “him” (dative) and “hine” (accusative) have been leveled to Modern English “him.”

8. to aim or point (a weapon, criticism, etc.) at a mark or objective.

   He leveled his criticism at the college as a whole.

   Synonyms:

   direct

9. Surveying. to find the relative elevation of different points in (land), as with a level.

verb (used without object)

leveled, leveling, levelled, levelling

1. to bring things or persons to a common level.

2. to aim a weapon, criticism, etc., at a mark or objective.

3. Surveying.

   1. to take a level.

   2. to use a leveling instrument.

4. to speak truthfully and openly (often followed bywith ).

   You're not leveling with me about your trip to Chicago.

5. Obsolete. to direct the mind, purpose, etc., at something.

adverb

1. Obsolete. in a level, direct, or even way or line.

verb phrase

1. level off

   1. Aeronautics. to maintain a constant altitude after a climb or descent.

   2. to become stable; reach a constant or limit.

   3. to make even or smooth.

2. level up

   1. (in a video game or tabletop game) to obtain a higher character level or skill rank, or improve the quality or performance statistics of an object, as a weapon.

   2. to perform at a higher standard than expected, or show vast improvement: Your date is smokin’ hot—way to level up, bro!

      It’s possible for a small business to level up and land big clients.

      Your date is smokin’ hot—way to level up, bro!

idioms

1. on the level, honest; sincere; reliable.

   Is this information on the level?

2. one's level best, one's very best; one's utmost.

   We tried our level best to get here on time.

3. find one's (own) level, to attain the place or position merited by one's abilities or achievements.

   He finally found his level as one of the directors of the firm.

level British  

/ ˈlɛvəl /

adjective

1. on a horizontal plane

2. having a surface of completely equal height

3. being of the same height as something else

4. (of quantities to be measured, as in recipes) even with the top of the cup, spoon, etc

5. equal to or even with (something or someone else)

6. not having or showing inconsistency or irregularities

7. Also: level-headed.  even-tempered; steady

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verb

1. to make (a surface) horizontal, level, or even

2. to make (two or more people or things) equal, as in position or status

3. (tr) to raze to the ground

4. (tr) to knock (a person) down by or as if by a blow

5. (tr) to direct (a gaze, criticism, etc) emphatically at someone

6. informal to be straightforward and frank

7. (intr; foll by off or out) to manoeuvre an aircraft into a horizontal flight path after a dive, climb, or glide

8. (often foll by at) to aim (a weapon) horizontally

9. surveying to determine the elevation of a section of (land), sighting through a levelling instrument to a staff at successive pairs or points

noun

1. a horizontal datum line or plane

2. a device, such as a spirit level, for determining whether a surface is horizontal

3. a surveying instrument consisting basically of a telescope with a spirit level attached, used for measuring relative heights of land See Abney level dumpy level

4. a reading of the difference in elevation of two points taken with such an instrument

5. position or status in a scale of values

6. amount or degree of progress; stage

7. a specified vertical position; altitude

8. a horizontal line or plane with respect to which measurement of elevation is based

   sea level

9. a flat even surface or area of land

10. a horizontal passage or drift in a mine

11. any of the successive layers of material that have been deposited with the passage of time to build up and raise the height of the land surface

12. physics the ratio of the magnitude of a physical quantity to an arbitrary magnitude

    sound-pressure level

13. to make every possible effort; try one's utmost

14. to find one's most suitable place socially, professionally, etc

15. on the same horizontal plane as another

16. informal sincere, honest, or genuine

level More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing level

• do one's (level) best
• on the level

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Synonym Usage

Level, even, flat, smooth suggest a uniform surface without marked unevenness. That which is level is parallel to the horizon: a level surface; A billiard table must be level. Flat is applied to any plane surface free from marked irregularities: a flat roof. With reference to land or country, flat connotes lowness or unattractiveness; level does not suggest anything derogatory. That which is even is free from irregularities, though not necessarily level or plane: an even land surface with no hills. Smooth suggests a high degree of evenness in any surface, especially to the touch and sometimes to the sight: as smooth as silk.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• levelness
  noun
• unlevelness
  noun
• relevel
  verb
• antileveling
  adjective
• antilevelling
  adjective
• interlevel
  adjective
• nonlevel
  adjective
• self-leveling
  adjective
• self-levelling
  adjective
• underlevel
  adjective
• unlevel
  adjective
• unleveled
  adjective
• unlevelled
  adjective
• well-leveled
  adjective
• well-levelled
  adjective
• levelly
  adverb
• unlevelly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• levels
  plural

Etymology

Origin of level

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English noun, variant of livel, from Middle French, from unattested Vulgar Latin lībellum, for Latin lībella “plummet line, level,” diminutive of lībra “balance, scales”; the verb is derived from the noun

Explanation

A level is a position in a scale. Attaining a high level of unemployment is depressing, but getting to a high level on a video game is exciting. The verb level also means to flatten or destroy. For example, a mighty wind will level a grove of trees or a wrecking ball can level a building. As a noun, level notes the position of something on a scale of intensity. You feel a rising level of temperature as the sun gets higher in the sky. As an adjective, level describes something that is even and flat. A level path is easy to walk on.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

level levels leveled leveling levelled levelling

“But I certainly did not think it was a historic level of crisis.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 6, 2026

But she had never faced anyone remotely close to Taylor's level and the gulf in class soon began to show.

From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2026

Its known range covers more than 67,000 square kilometers across the Chocó forests of western Ecuador and southern Colombia, from sea level to elevations of 1,200 meters.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 5, 2026

Zheng went on to win the next four points to level the tie - and the rest was history.

From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2026

Her mouth was pinched and cross, but when her big eye was level with mine, her expression softened and her mouth hung open.

From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff

He estimates that this year’s tax hikes, which include increases at the city, county and school-board levels, will add roughly $2,000 a year.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 6, 2026

According to research by Newcastle University, 269 airports around the world are already at risk of flooding due to rising sea levels, and that total is expected to rise.

From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2026

To explain the effect, the researchers propose a process known as the "back-bending" of Landau levels.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 5, 2026

The river’s reservoirs have declined to their lowest levels on record.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 5, 2026

It wound in a spiral, with stores and restaurants on different levels.

From "The Line Tender" by Kate Allen

But last year, growth leveled off, and management said the company had “more work to do to reinvigorate this brand and get it back on its historical growth trajectory.”

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 3, 2026

Rocha said Friday that prosecutors from Mexico’s attorney general’s office had cleared him of all charges leveled by the Justice Department in late April.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026

As the interactions grew stronger, collision-driven resistivity eventually leveled off instead of continuing to rise.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 31, 2026

US actor and singer Jared Leto on Wednesday denied allegations of sexual assault and harassment leveled against him by ten women in a new documentary aired by the BBC.

From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026

The global competitive playing field was being leveled.

From "The World Is Flat" by Thomas L. Friedman

Or, if you prefer softer spuds, Danny also has a genius tip for leveling up your potato salad.

From Slate ● Sep. 4, 2026

In Germany, the Bundestag expanded from 598 seats to 736 seats in 2021 because the number of leveling seats needed to preserve proportionality continued to rise.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 2, 2026

But now, more states are leveling the playing field.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026

A solution ex machina prevented it from closing, but instead of maintaining the status quo, everybody committed to leveling it up to a Michelin star-worthy bistro.

From Salon ● Jun. 28, 2026

And if he sees such looks in Tokyo, what might he not see in the eyes of those who survived the leveling and the ash heap of Hiroshima?

From "Farewell to Manzanar" by Jeanne Houston

Some will inevitably say this was another example of Ferrari messing up their strategy, an accusation that is levelled at them quite often.

From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026

The Producer Price Index was unchanged in July from June levels, suggesting that factory-gate inflation levelled off before the latest uptick in oil futures.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

Bailey Cadamarteri ran through on goal and slotted in to put Wrexham back in front before Leeds again levelled when Longstaff scored with a right-footed shot.

From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026

The US has also levelled murder charges against Cuba's former president, Raúl Castro, who remains an influential figure on the island despite being 95 years old.

From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026

Yes, there it lay, the fruit of all their struggles, levelled to its foundations, the stones they had broken and carried so laboriously scattered all around.

From "Animal Farm: A Fairy Story" by George Orwell

Ashley has repeatedly called for a fundamental overhaul of the tax, including levelling the playing field between High Street retailers and online rivals.

From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026

Argentina seized control, with Enzo Fernandez levelling in the 85th minute before Lautaro Martinez headed Lionel Messi's cross home in stoppage time to complete a remarkable comeback.

From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026

Brussels insists the measure is not targeted at China, nor any other country for that matter, but is about levelling the playing field.

From Barron's ● Jun. 30, 2026

The second seed barely lost a service point at the start of the second set before Cobolli broke for 4-3 - helped by two double faults from Zverev - on his way to levelling.

From BBC ● Jun. 7, 2026

Levelling upwards is laudable; levelling downwards is execrable.

From The Contemporary Review, Volume 36, October 1879 by Various

Related Words

• bulldoze
• devastate
• drop
• equalize
• fell
• flatten
• raze
• ruin
• wreck