spillway
a passageway through which surplus water escapes from a reservoir, lake, or the like.
Origin of spillway
1Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use spillway in a sentence
The water went in spillways through the dam, forming again into the old natural river below it and flowing with it to the south.
Astounding Stories, June, 1931 | VariousThe murmur of the dam's spillways had been faintly audible, but now it was louder, presently it became a roar.
Astounding Stories, June, 1931 | VariousBut so heavily does it rain at times that countless spillways let the surplus escape to the sea.
The Cruise of the Snark | Jack LondonIts gates, its cuts, its spillways, its tractions—all of these had grown familiar by actual inspection.
Bert Wilson's Twin Cylinder Racer | J. W. DuffieldPossess—possession is nine points of the law—that's what Judge Warner said: the spillways, Bartley—shut 'em quick!
The Real Man | Francis Lynde
British Dictionary definitions for spillway
/ (ˈspɪlˌweɪ) /
a channel that carries away surplus water, as from a dam: Also called: wasteweir, spill
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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