Definition

1. Noun:
   • An embankment built to prevent a river from overflowing: A man-made ridge, usually of earth or stone, constructed along the banks of a river or other body of water to contain floodwaters.
   • A pier or landing place on a river: A quay or wharf, especially on a river, where boats can dock.
   • A formal reception of visitors or guests: A formal assembly held, especially historically, by a person of high rank (e.g., a monarch or governor) to receive guests, typically in the morning.

Usage Examples

• Noun (Embankment):
  • The city reinforced the levee to protect against the spring floods.
  • After the hurricane, the levee was breached, causing widespread flooding.
• Noun (Pier/Landing):
  • The steamboat pulled up to the levee to unload its cargo.
• Noun (Formal Reception):
  • The ambassador attended the king's morning levee.
  • In the 18th century, holding a levee was a common practice for European nobility.

Advanced Usage

• "To hold a levee": To host a formal reception for visitors.
  • The governor will hold a levee for the visiting dignitaries.
• "Levee system": A network of embankments designed for flood control.
  • The Mississippi River is protected by an extensive levee system.

Variants and Related Words

• Leveed (verb, past tense): The action of having built or reinforced a levee.
  • The engineers leveed the riverbank last year.
• Levee board (noun): A local authority responsible for maintaining levees.
  • The levee board decided to raise taxes for flood protection.

Synonyms

• Embankment, dike, dyke: For the flood-control structure.
• Quay, wharf, dock: For the landing place.
• Reception, audience, soiree: For the formal gathering.

Related Phrases

• Levee breach: A failure or break in a levee.
  • The town was evacuated due to a levee breach upstream.
• Levee en masse (historical/military): A French term for a mass conscription or uprising in defense of the nation.
  • The revolutionary government called for a levee en masse.

Idioms

• "The levee's gonna break": An idiom, popularized by blues music, referring to impending disaster or the failure of a system of control.
  • If we don't fix the infrastructure, the levee's gonna break, metaphorically speaking.

Noun

1. an embankment that is built in order to prevent a river from overflowing
2. a pier that provides a landing place on a river
3. a formal reception of visitors or guests (as at a royal court)