Synonyms of levee

levee

noun

ˈle-vē 

1

as in dam

a bank of earth constructed to control water

the raging floodwaters were too much for the levee to handle

Synonyms & Similar Words

• dam
• embankment
• canal
• dike
• rampart
• barrier
• ditch
• weir
• barricade
• lock
• head
• breakwater
• seawall
• channel
• jetty
• block
• gutter
• trough
• earthwork
• bulwark
• breastwork
• sluice
• barrage
• floodgate
• stank
• milldam

2

as in wharf

a structure used by boats and ships for taking on or landing cargo and passengers

we tied the boat up at the levee and started unloading the fish we had caught

Synonyms & Similar Words

• wharf
• dock
• pier
• quay
• landing
• jetty
• float
• quai
• mooring
• marina
• shipyard
• berth
• wharfage
• embarcadero
• slip
• dockyard
• quayage

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of levee

Old levees and dams, for example, can leave a community vulnerable to catastrophic flooding, as the Seattle area saw in December 2025 when flooding from heavy rainfall broke levees in multiple communities. — Bethany Tietjen, The Conversation, 21 Sep. 2026

Farther down, the levee that restrains the rivers is a low line of trees into the horizon. — Sean MacAday, Sacbee.com, 20 Sep. 2026

Made to resemble the town’s levee (which held during the Flood of 1993), a full pie is loaded with 18 fresh apples and weighs a whopping 10 pounds. — Erika Ebsworth-Goold, Travel + Leisure, 19 Sep. 2026

However, that connection was lost with the construction of a flood-control levee and other improvements that make a bridge necessary for that route now. — Phil Diehl, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 Sep. 2026