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• dyke
  dyke

  noun

  dike.
• Dyke
  Dyke

  noun

  Greg ( ory ). born 1947, British television executive; director-general of the BBC (2000–04)

dyke

¹ American  

[dahyk] / daɪk /

noun

dyked, dyking

1. dike.

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dyke ² American  

[dahyk] / daɪk /

Also dike

noun

Slang: Disparaging and Offensive.

1. a contemptuous term used to refer to a lesbian.

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dyke ¹ British  

/ daɪk /

noun

1. an embankment constructed to prevent flooding, keep out the sea, etc

2. a ditch or watercourse

3. a bank made of earth excavated for and placed alongside a ditch

4. a wall, esp a dry-stone wall

5. a barrier or obstruction

6. a vertical or near-vertical wall-like body of igneous rock intruded into cracks in older rock

7. informal

   1. a lavatory

   2. ( as modifier )

      a dyke roll

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verb

1. civil engineering an embankment or wall built to confine a river to a particular course

2. (tr) to protect, enclose, or drain (land) with a dyke

Dyke ² British  

/ dɑɪk /

noun

1. Greg ( ory ). born 1947, British television executive; director-general of the BBC (2000–04)

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dyke ³ British  

/ daɪk /

noun

1. slang a lesbian

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Sensitive Note

The terms dyke and bull dyke are used with disparaging intent and are perceived as insulting. However, they have been adopted as positive terms of self-reference by young or radical lesbians and in the academic community. In the mainstream gay community, lesbian and gay remain the terms of choice.

Other Word Forms

• dykey
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of dyke

First recorded in 1940–45; earlier in form bulldike (with a variant bulldagger ); of obscure origin; claimed to be a shortening of morphodyke (variant of morphodite, a reshaping of hermaphrodite ), though morphodyke is more likely a blend of morphodite and a preexisting dyke; other hypothesized connections, such as with diked out or dike “ditch,” are dubious on semantic grounds

Example Sentences

In February, Gannon Ken Van Dyke, a U.S. army soldier, placed a $400k bet on the expulsion of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro using inside information.

From Salon • May 24, 2026

Army soldier Gannon Ken Van Dyke now faces federal charges for using classified information to make bets related to the U.S. military action in Venezuela using Polymarket.

From Barron's • May 22, 2026

Van Dyke allegedly made more than $400,000, according to prosecutors.

From Barron's • May 22, 2026

Van Dyke had signed an agreement to “never divulge, publish, or reveal,” including through any conduct, what he knew about the operation to capture Maduro, according to the CFTC’s lawsuit against him.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 17, 2026

Mr. Van Dyke had given her a whole month in her house, but she had decided to leave after the standard two weeks.

From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam