weir
noun
a small dam in a river or stream.
weir
American
[weer]
/ wɪər /
noun
-
weirs
plural
-
a small dam in a river or stream.
-
a fence, as of brush or narrow boards, or a net set in a stream, channel, etc., for catching fish.
Weir
1
British
/ wɪə /
noun
-
Judith. born 1954, Scottish composer: her operas include A Night at the Chinese Opera (1987), and Armida (2005)
-
Peter. born 1944, Australian film director; his films include Dead Poets Society (1989), The Truman Show (1998), and Master and Commander (2003)
weir
2
British
/ wɪə /
noun
-
a low dam that is built across a river to raise the water level, divert the water, or control its flow
-
a series of traps or enclosures placed in a stream to catch fish
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of weir
before 900; Middle English were, Old English wer, derivative of root of werian to defend, dam up
Vocabulary lists containing weir
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The court was shown conditions on the weir on that day, with the prosecution explaining it showed "immense turbulence" of the water.
From BBC ● Jun. 5, 2026
O'Dwyer deferred to Lloyd as the company owner to decide the final route but raised valid concerns, such as the drop over the weir.
From BBC ● Jun. 5, 2026
Nicola Wheatley, 40, was one of four paddleboarders killed after descending a weir in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, on 30 October 2021.
From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2025
"Why didn't you tell them it was there because I'm damned sure Nicola wouldn't have got on that water… you don't go over a weir on a paddleboard."
From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2025
Instead, she was carried back each time to the weir, where she clung to a rusty iron ring, waiting for him, her white face vivid against the lurid mossy walls and greenish cement.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
The LP opens with “Casablanca,” in which she recounts a run-in with the Grateful Dead’s Bob Weir in New Orleans in the late ’80s.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026
The victims of the crash were Alpha Phi sorority sisters Niamh Rolston, 20; Peyton Stewart, 21; Asha Weir, 21; and Deslyn Williams, 21, who all received their degrees posthumously.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
Weir and a small crew are sent on a recovery mission after the lost spaceship, the Event Horizon, suddenly reappears in orbit around Neptune, issuing a distress signal.
From Salon ● Jul. 17, 2026
Community centre user Alison Grant, 61, from Weir said she was "very anxious and very worried".
From BBC ● Jun. 29, 2026
The only slight drawback is that I’m one table over from Brij Nath and Matthew Weir, both of whom slurp cafeteria chili and gargle it in the back of their throats as a joke.
From "From Twinkle, with Love" by Sandhya Menon
Often the barriers are small culverts or weirs that are redundant and could be removed, said Dr Janina Gray, head of science at environment charity WildFish.
From BBC ● Mar. 24, 2026
This showed how it is possible to maintain the full tidal range within existing dams or weirs.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 13, 2024
The weirs allow some fish to continue their journey upstream to spawn while yielding a harvest calibrated to the needs of the local community.
From Science Magazine ● Oct. 25, 2023
The tribunal also said the riverbanks and locations of the proposed weirs were of archaeological interest and significant for cultural heritage.
From Reuters ● Apr. 7, 2023
Crisscrossing the savanna are networks of earthen fish weirs: interconnected low berms that change direction, zigzag-style, every thirty to a hundred feet.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
