spillway

[spil-wey]

noun

1. a passageway through which surplus water escapes from a reservoir, lake, or the like.

spillway

/ ˈspɪlˌweɪ /

noun

1. Also called: wasteweir.  spill. a channel that carries away surplus water, as from a dam

Word History and Origins

Origin of spillway¹

First recorded in 1885–90; spill ¹ + way ¹

Example Sentences

“What we need is bigger portals, bigger legal openings to come through the border,” Worsley said, likening it to the way a spillway releases pressure behind a dam.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Technically called the Morning Glory Hole spillway, the drainage pipe has been used only 25 times in its nearly 70-year history, according to the Solano County Water Agency, which utilizes water from the reservoir.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

They have completed reports on 31 of those, including assessments of whether their spillways are big enough to handle a flood.

Read more on Science Magazine

Next to the lake, a spillway flows into a stream that the Department of Water Resources refers to as Blue Canyon Creek.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Some of what they remove will be used to fill in the dam’s emergency spillway which is carved into the rock beside the river.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• inundation