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

At the undergraduate level, mental and social health programs are expected to fail at very low rates nationwide, according to HEA.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026

Seren White, who worked on the design of the new curved armour, said the plates had "been tested with the highest level of rigor".

From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026

A record level of private-equity investments are stuck in funds limping along past their intended lifespans.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026

Rather than treating gravity only as a fundamental force or as the curvature of spacetime, GfE connects it to information and entropy at the quantum level.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 21, 2026

Clare squatted to her eye level, doing his best to hide his surprise.

From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman

Although the number of people living on the streets went down the last two years, the levels are still higher than they were in 2022.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026

The rise has largely occurred since the Covid pandemic and is closely linked to increasing obesity levels, according to an analysis of NHS data from 2011 to 2024, external.

From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026

In crafting the replacement tariffs, administration officials have said they would devise levies at similar levels to the expiring levies.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026

On top of that, Gen Z reports loneliness at levels that surpass previous generations, which is exacerbated by an increasing reliance on social media to form connections.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026

“They’re not approved yet. They haven’t gone through all levels of review. It wouldn’t have been safe.”

From "Boy 2.0" by Tracey Baptiste

Widespread technological access and the proliferation of artificial intelligence have leveled the playing field in a manner previously unseen.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz leveled criticism at the U.S. in April after the start of the Iran war.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 15, 2026

In its final report released Thursday, Rand found that homelessness has leveled off in Hollywood after a steep decline in 2024, but that the way those remaining live has continued to change.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 22, 2026

Steyer’s campaign then filed a complaint earlier this week in which it leveled accusations against Reed and another influencer named Jay Gonzalez, who is now a paid staffer on the Becerra campaign.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 21, 2026

The gardener was clipping away at the bougainvillea, taming the flowers that defiantly stuck out of the leveled top.

From "Purple Hibiscus" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Instead of leveling whole cities, we can single out enemies and spare innocents.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 4, 2026

Though some of the decline may be leveling off, it’s unclear whether wage growth will be able to keep pace with inflation this year.

From Barron's ● Apr. 30, 2026

You might have assumed that America’s intellectuals would have been overjoyed at this postwar cultural leveling up, but not all were.

From Salon ● Apr. 19, 2026

And to me, the second special, it feels like there’s a bit of a growth in leveling up.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 10, 2026

He revolutionized Pimlico, installing a public-address system and a modern starting gate and leveling out the large hill in the infield that had given the track its nickname—“Old Hilltop”—but obstructed the view of the races.

From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand

The 35-year-old Englishman has often been accused of not showing enough killer instinct in the key moments of majors - and that could be levelled at him again this week.

From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026

Then they went behind again - before a stunning strike from Cabral levelled again.

From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026

Nine minutes later, as a man in a Premier League top unsuccessfully attempted to charm a young lady a few feet away at the bar, Iran levelled, puncturing the mood at one particular table.

From BBC ● Jun. 27, 2026

In the city of Catia La Mar on Venezuela's coast, Yilsmaris Blanco stared in shock at the scenes of devastation early Thursday after powerful twin earthquakes levelled dozens of buildings.

From Barron's ● Jun. 25, 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

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

Haaland only needed one game to become Norway's joint all-time leading scorer at the World Cup - levelling with Kjetil Rekdal.

From BBC ● Jun. 21, 2026

He argues that road geometry, and poor aiming of headlights in cars that don't have automatic levelling systems, are more likely culprits.

From BBC ● Feb. 18, 2026

With the score at 3-1 to the world champion, Humphries rallied with 10 and 13-dart legs on his way to levelling the match.

From BBC ● Feb. 1, 2026

In spite of the general levelling which Greek culture and Roman government had made all over the Mediterranean world, the age-long influences of race and climate and cult were still at work.

From The Conflict of Religions in the Early Roman Empire by Glover, T. R. (Terrot Reaveley)

Related Words

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