noun
dyke
DYK
noun
1
A raised bank of earth or stone built to hold back water and prevent flooding.
"The Dutch have relied on dykes for centuries to keep the sea out."
"Heavy rain caused the river to rise close to the top of the dyke."
2
A ditch or channel dug to drain or carry water.
"Fenland farmers cut dykes across the flat fields to drain them."
verb
1
To build an embankment around, or protect with one.
"They worked through the night to dyke the swollen river."
How to Use Dyke
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA wall or bank of earth built to stop water flooding onto land, or the ditch dug alongside it.
When to use it
The word is also used, sometimes as a slur and sometimes reclaimed within the LGBTQ+ community, as slang for a lesbian — that sense is highly context-dependent and can be offensive outside of self-description.
Common pairings
build a dyke
flood dyke
sea dyke
Word Forms
dyked past tense, dykes plural, dykes plural, Dykes plural, dykes singular
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Etymology
A variant spelling of "dike", tracing back through Middle English to Old Norse díki, meaning a ditch.