spillway
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of spillway
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.
To handle the extra volume, engineers send surplus water down 5 Shaft into the deep pool below, much like an overflow spillway helps relieve pressure at a full reservoir.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 6, 2026
Because the dam was constructed in a canyon too narrow to support a typical spillway, officials erected the unique engineering feature to still allow for drainage — the Morning Glory Hole.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 10, 2025
But when the river is high, opening the spillway eases pressure on the levees that protect New Orleans.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 24, 2024
The first thing I saw after claiming a parking spot was a vivid rainbow, hanging in the mist above the dam’s spillway.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2023
On this side of the lake there was a concrete wall with a spillway.
From "Bless Me, Ultima" by Rudolfo Anaya
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.
