: a passage for surplus water to run over or around an obstruction (such as a dam)
Examples of spillway in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Wallmakers needed to connect the two land parcels while keeping the foundation 100 ft within the spillway width, since a JCB excavator needed to be used for clearing the build space.
—
Stefan Ionescu
may 20, New Atlas, 20 May 2026
It’s believed that Nourse was fishing in the spillway below the lower dam at Lake Lowell before falling into the water.
—Idaho Statesman, 20 May 2026
Two separate task forces blamed the catastrophe partly on weak dam safety standards, which allowed owner Boyce Hydro to operate the dams with spillways too small to handle a major flood while pleading poverty as regulators pushed for upgrades.
—CBS News, 24 Apr. 2026
The Antrim County Operator of Dams, in a Facebook post on April 12, said all the dams spillways were fully open, as well as those at Elk Rapids.
—Jalen Williams, Freep.com, 14 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for spillway
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Stefan Ionescu
may 20, New Atlas, 20 May 2026
It’s believed that Nourse was fishing in the spillway below the lower dam at Lake Lowell before falling into the water.
—Idaho Statesman, 20 May 2026
Two separate task forces blamed the catastrophe partly on weak dam safety standards, which allowed owner Boyce Hydro to operate the dams with spillways too small to handle a major flood while pleading poverty as regulators pushed for upgrades.
—CBS News, 24 Apr. 2026
The Antrim County Operator of Dams, in a Facebook post on April 12, said all the dams spillways were fully open, as well as those at Elk Rapids.
—Jalen Williams, Freep.com, 14 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for spillway
Cite this Entry
“Spillway.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spillway. Accessed 21 May. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
spillway
noun
spill·way
ˈspil-ˌwā 
: a passage for extra water to run over or around a dam
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