dike
1 of 3noun (1)
ˈdīk 
1
civil engineering : an artificial watercourse : ditch
2
civil engineering
a
: a bank (see bank entry 1 sense 1) usually of earth constructed to control or confine water : levee
b
: a barrier preventing passage especially of something undesirable
3
a
civil engineering : a raised causeway
b
geology : a tabular body of igneous rock that has been injected while molten into a fissure
dike
2 of 3verb
diked; diking
transitive verb
1
civil engineering : to surround or protect with a dike (see dike entry 1)
2
civil engineering : to drain by a dike
diker noun civil engineering
dike
3 of 3noun (2)
less common spelling of dyke
usually offensive
: lesbian
Synonyms
Noun (1)
- dam
- embankment
- head
- levee
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web
Peter Fimrite, SFChronicle.com, 17 Aug. 2019 Ed Musial blames a series of finger dikes the state installed in the 1980s for channeling the river past their homes. Zaz Hollander, Anchorage Daily News, 30 June 2019 The southern banks along Svensen Slough, a side channel of the Columbia River, have transformed over time from historic spruce swamp into fields diked off by European settlers for farming. Edward Stratton, The Christian Science Monitor, 2 Apr. 2018 Aerial photos show portions of the land – diked and drained for agriculture by the 1930s and cut in half by US Highway 30 by the 1970s – slowly returning to wetlands as levees broke down and breached. Edward Stratton, The Christian Science Monitor, 2 Apr. 2018 The tank area is believed to be diked and lined to contain spilled fuel. Zaz Hollander, Anchorage Daily News, 15 Mar. 2018 That was before humans drained and diked estuaries to build cities, grow crops, and make salt. National Geographic, 13 June 2017 See More
Verb
In addition to the hundreds of thousands of acres of marshland that were drained or diked off, the researchers discovered former wetlands that now are forested that were unknown to anybody. Peter Fimrite, SFChronicle.com, 17 Aug. 2019 Ed Musial blames a series of finger dikes the state installed in the 1980s for channeling the river past their homes. Zaz Hollander, Anchorage Daily News, 30 June 2019 The southern banks along Svensen Slough, a side channel of the Columbia River, have transformed over time from historic spruce swamp into fields diked off by European settlers for farming. Edward Stratton, The Christian Science Monitor, 2 Apr. 2018 Aerial photos show portions of the land – diked and drained for agriculture by the 1930s and cut in half by US Highway 30 by the 1970s – slowly returning to wetlands as levees broke down and breached. Edward Stratton, The Christian Science Monitor, 2 Apr. 2018 The tank area is believed to be diked and lined to contain spilled fuel. Zaz Hollander, Anchorage Daily News, 15 Mar. 2018 That was before humans drained and diked estuaries to build cities, grow crops, and make salt. National Geographic, 13 June 2017 See More Word History
Etymology
Noun (1) and Verb
Middle English, probably from Old Norse dīk ditch and Middle Low German dīk dam; akin to Old English dīc ditch — more at ditch
First Known Use
Noun (1)
13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Verb
14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Kids Definition
dike
noun
ˈdīk
1
: a long trench dug in the earth to carry water
2
: a mound of earth built to control water
dike 1 of 2
noun
1
as in dam
a bank of earth constructed to control water an elaborate system of dikes built to protect the lowlands from the relentless onslaught of the sea Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- dam
- levee
- embankment
- canal
- rampart
- barrier
- weir
- breakwater
- ditch
- seawall
- lock
- barricade
- head
- trough
- jetty
- gutter
- block
- channel
- earthwork
- bulwark
- sluice
- breastwork
- barrage
- floodgate
- milldam
- stank
2
as in ditch
a long narrow channel dug in the earth water flowed along the dike to the small pond Synonyms & Similar Words
- ditch
- trench
- gutter
- ravine
- trough
- furrow
- fosse
- culvert
- moat
- foss
- gully
- gulley
- sheugh
- drain
- acequia
- drill
- stank
- draw
- ha-ha
- sunk fence
- kennel
dike
2 of 2verb
as in to fence
Synonyms & Similar Words
- fence
- gate
- hedge
- lock
- barricade
- guard
- blockade
- curtain (off)
- screen (off)
- bolt
- bar
- obstruct
- wall (off)
- block (off)
- close (off)
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- open
- unbar
- unblock
- reopen
- unbolt