: 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 WebNext to the lake, a spillway flows into a stream that the Department of Water Resources refers to as Blue Canyon Creek.—Tyrone Beason, Los Angeles Times, 19 May 2024 At full capacity, wind over Lake Oroville could produce waves that crash over the crest of the emergency spillway — a normal and expected function of the design.—Brianna Taylor, Sacramento Bee, 9 May 2024 Photos show the cub’s mad dash up and down the spillway — and into a corner.—Brooke Baitinger, Idaho Statesman, 23 Apr. 2024 The main spillway continues to perform well and operate as designed, DWR said, ever since a 2017 incident when one of the dam’s two spillways was heavily damaged and there were fears of major flooding.—David Caraccio, Sacramento Bee, 1 Feb. 2024 See all Example Sentences for spillway
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'spillway.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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