dyke

Pluraldykes

Formsdykes, dyking, dyked

1. 1
   nounslangderogatoryoffensiveslurcountable

   An offensive slang word for a lesbian, especially one seen as masculine, and by extension for any woman who is not heterosexual or any woman thought to look or act masculine.

   UsageSome lesbians use it of themselves with pride, but that does not make it safe for others to use.

   Note

   It appears in Berrey and Van den Bark's American Thesaurus of Slang (1942), and a link to the ditch word has been proposed, though its origin remains uncertain. Source

   Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

   • The word appears in Berrey and Van den Bark's American Thesaurus of Slang (1942). en.wiktionary.org
   • 1942 refers to the original edition rather than the later enlarged edition. time.com
   • A connection with the word meaning ditch has been proposed. en.wiktionary.org
   • The slang word's origin remains uncertain. en.wikipedia.org
2. 2
   flood banknounUKcountable

   A bank of earth, especially one built to keep the sea or a flooding river from covering low land.

   Large parts of the Netherlands lie below sea level, protected by dykes and pumping stations.

   When the dyke gave way, seawater poured across the fields and into the village.

   UsageAmerican writers mostly spell it dike.

   Similarlevee, embankment, seawall, bank

   Note

   Old Norse díki gave the word its first meaning, a ditch; Middle Dutch dijc and Middle Low German dīk, which could also mean a dam, help explain how it came to name the bank that holds the water back. Fittingly, the Railway Magazine of 1953 reported dykes bursting along the coast of Holland. Source

   Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

   • Dyke derives through Northern Middle English from Old Norse díki, meaning ditch. en.wiktionary.org
   • Middle Dutch dijc and Middle Low German dīk influenced the embankment meaning; both could mean dam. en.wiktionary.org
   • Railway Magazine reported coastal dykes bursting in Holland in 1953. en.wiktionary.org
3. 3
   rock veinnounUKcountable

   A sheet of rock that fills a crack cutting through older rock layers, usually formed when molten rock flowed in and hardened.

   A dark basalt dyke cuts across the pale sandstone of the cliff in a ruler-straight line.

   Geologists mapped dozens of intrusive dykes radiating out from the old volcano.

   Note

   Geologists set a dyke against a sill: a dyke cuts across the layers of the rock it invades, while a sill slips in between them. The Transactions of the Geological Society of South Africa (1968) reads texture to judge some bodies “intrusive dykes rather than intercalations” of lava. Where a dyke is harder than its host, erosion can leave it standing as a natural wall. Source

   Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

   • A dyke cuts across existing rock layers, whereas a sill intrudes between them. geoinfo.nmt.edu
   • Erosion can expose a resistant dyke as a natural wall. en.wikipedia.org
4. 4
   field wallnoundialectalScotlandUKcountable

   A low wall, earth bank, fence or hedge that encloses land and marks a boundary.

   Sheep sheltered from the wind behind the dry stone dyke at the top of the hill.

   The old dykes that divide the glen into fields were built without a drop of mortar.

   UsageClassic phrase: dry stone dyke. Elsewhere, the usual word is wall.

   Similarwall, bank

   Note

   In Scotland this is still the everyday word for a field wall, and the classic kind is the dry stone dyke, built without mortar. Local styles carry names of their own: Nick Aitken's Dry Stone Walling (2023) describes the Galloway dyke of the southwest, which began simply as the sheep dyke. Source

   Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

   • Dry stone dykes are built without mortar. crowood.com
   • Nick Aitken wrote Dry Stone Walling – Materials and Techniques, first published in 2023. thestonetrust.org
   • Aitken describes the Galloway dyke as a southwestern Scottish style originally called the sheep dyke. en.wiktionary.org
5. 5
   nounUKcountable

   A ditch or channel that carries water, or any stream or watercourse, sometimes one large enough for boats.

   The fields are drained by a dyke that runs along the edge of the lane.

   After weeks of rain the dykes were brimming and the meadows were waterlogged.

   Similarditch, channel, drain, watercourse

6. 6
   nounhistoricalUKcountable

   A long, narrow ditch dug to mark a boundary.

   The medieval dyke that divided the two estates can still be traced across the fields.

   The charter fixed the parish boundary along a dyke running from the church to the river.

   Similarditch, trench

   Note

   The word began as a ditch: Northern Middle English dik, from Old Norse díki. Middle Dutch dijc meant both ditch and dam, and under its influence English kept the same doubling, so dyke can name a channel for water or the bank that holds back floods. Source

   Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

   • Dyke derives from Northern Middle English dik, meaning ditch, from Old Norse díki. en.wiktionary.org
   • Middle Dutch dijc meant both ditch and dam and influenced the English word. en.wiktionary.org
7. 7
   build flood banksverbUKtransitive or intransitive

   To build an earth bank that holds back the sea or a river.

   Dutch engineers were hired to dyke the river where it flooded the meadows each spring.

   For generations the marsh villages dyked and drained, winning grazing land from the sea.

8. 8
   barrier (idea)nounfigurativelyUKcountable

   Any barrier, obstacle, or difficulty that holds something back.

   Similarbarrier, bulwark, obstacle

9. 9
   raised roadnounUKcountable

   A raised causeway, a road or path built up above low or wet ground.

   The only way across the marsh was a narrow dyke wide enough for one cart.

   At high tide the dyke to the island disappears under the water.

   Similarcauseway

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