- a variation of dyke.
dike
1 Americannoun
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an embankment for controlling or holding back the waters of the sea or a river.
They built a temporary dike of sandbags to keep the river from flooding the town.
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a ditch.
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a bank of earth formed of material being excavated.
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a causeway.
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British Dialect. a low wall or fence, especially of earth or stone, for dividing or enclosing land.
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an obstacle; barrier.
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Geology.
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a long, narrow, cross-cutting mass of igneous rock intruded into a fissure in older rock.
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a similar mass of rock composed of other kinds of material, as sandstone.
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Australian Slang. a urinal.
verb (used with object)
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dikes,
present (3rd person singular)
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diked,
past participle, past
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diking
present participle
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to furnish or drain with a dike.
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to enclose, restrain, or protect by a dike.
to dike a tract of land.
noun
noun
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A body of igneous rock that cuts across the structure of adjoining rock, usually as a result of the intrusion of magma. Dikes are often of a different composition from the rock they cut across. They are usually on the order of centimeters to meters across and up to tens of kilometers long.
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See illustration at batholith
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An embankment of earth and rock built to prevent floods or to hold irrigation water in for agricultural purposes.
Usage
What else does dike mean? Dike is an extremely offensive slur for a lesbian. It has been reappropriated by some in the LGBTQ community as a label of pride and solidarity. What are some other forms of dike?dyke
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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dikesimple
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dikessimple
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have dikedperfect
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has dikedperfect
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am dikingprogressive
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are dikingprogressive
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is dikingprogressive
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have been dikingperfect progressive
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has been dikingperfect progressive
Past
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dikedsimple
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had dikedperfect
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was dikingprogressive
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were dikingprogressive
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had been dikingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of dike
before 900; Middle English dik ( e ), Old English dīc < Old Norse dīki; akin to ditch
Explanation
A dike is a structure made of earth or stone that's used to hold back water. If you visit the Netherlands, you can see their elaborate system of dikes, without which much of the country would be underwater. The verb dike means to enclose with a structure, like a wall or embankment, intended to hold back water. The Netherlands diked an inland sea, used pumping and other water control measures, and was able to reclaim flooded areas. The Dutch have used dikes to prevent flooding since the 12th century, and the word itself has the same roots as the Dutch word dijk.
Vocabulary lists containing dike
Western Europe - Introductory
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Western Europe - Middle School and High School
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Early Civilizations of China, Lessons 1–3
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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:
To suggest the Dutch are clueless about combat is like suggesting they don’t know how to build a dike.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 21, 2026
“And when you were up on the rock, then every crystal, crack, and ripple was endowed with indissoluble, life-saving importance, each dike and chickenhead inalienably itself.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 20, 2026
The organization will run out of money for dike maintenance in Bentiu by February, after months of some of the most severe flooding in years.
From Salon ● Dec. 16, 2025
Known as the Kokaral Dam, the dike cuts across a narrow stretch of the sea, conserving and gathering water from the Syr Darya River.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 7, 2024
“Dat’s right too. Look, Ah got uh job uh work. Help clearin’ up things in general, and then dey goin’ build dat dike sho nuff.
From "Their Eyes Were Watching God" by Zora Neale Hurston
A 1624-vintage perpetual Dutch security, originally bearing a yield of 6.25% and denominated in gold, was issued to finance essential repairs to some dikes along the lower Rhine.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
Big Bend, bordering Mexico in West Texas, features volcanic dikes, dinosaur bones and stunning canyon views.
From Salon ● Aug. 18, 2026
The Dutch -- with their dikes, dams and vast waterworks--have long been admired for their tenacity in the face of flood risks.
From Barron's ● Aug. 15, 2026
The new study examined dikes, which are narrow fractures that could theoretically serve as channels for ocean water moving upward through the ice.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 29, 2026
They used it along the paddy dikes for footing.
From "Fallen Angels" by Walter Dean Myers
When the river basin was diked and drained for agriculture, the river became rigid and channeled, acting as a firehose for sediment headed downriver from the stream’s upper reaches.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 2, 2023
An estimated 40% of the original wetland has been diked, drained or destroyed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 20, 2021
Among the dire conditions, some hope arises: In times of drought, work to restore diked shoreline and salt works back to tidal marsh and shallow ponds is paying off for birds.
From National Geographic ● Jul. 16, 2015
For the past 150 years, the marshy area where salmon bred and fed has been dried, diked and dammed.
From New York Times ● Apr. 19, 2014
Jing! if it ain’t Dan Dolan,—Dan Dolan all diked up like a swell!
From Killykinick by Mary T. (Mary Theresa) Waggaman
The Corps of Engineers has to approve the permits because work will be done near the Columbia River diking system and in and around wetlands, Bennett added.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 24, 2022
Oystermen started diking tidelands and cultivating the precious bivalves like a crop — and for a while, they prospered.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 22, 2019
"We need to repair 75 years of diking and draining, but that takes time," he said.
From US News ● Jul. 1, 2016
The Souris was ripping along at 6,610 cfs at Broadway Bridge, a higher flow than what much of the diking in the city was believed able to contain.
From Washington Times ● May 29, 2016
Given Cahokia’s engineering expertise, though, solutions were within reach: terracing hillsides, diking rivers, even moving Cahokia.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
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