spillway

[ spil-wey ]

noun

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

spillway

/ ˈspɪlˌweɪ /

noun

1. a channel that carries away surplus water, as from a dam Also calledwasteweirspill

Word History and Origins

Origin of spillway¹

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

Example Sentences

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

From 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.

From Los Angeles Times

Opening the spillway diverts Mississippi River water to Lake Pontchartrain and Lake Borgne, after which it flows to the Mississippi Sound in the Gulf of Mexico.

From Seattle Times

Lowry found fields of half-submerged corn, soybeans that had disappeared under the flooding almost entirely and rapids rushing from their spillway like a waterfall.

From Seattle Times

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

Related Words

• inundation