levels

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of level.

   Oxygen levels drop noticeably at high altitude.

   The game grows harder as players advance through the later levels.

   Note

   Only the countable uses of level take this plural: tools, elevations, degrees, qualifications, depths in a tree structure, stages of a game. The same spelling is also the present-tense verb, and position settles which one you have. In "oxygen levels drop" it is a noun with a verb after it. In "she levels the floor" it is the verb itself. Measured quantities lean on the plural: oxygen levels, noise levels.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of level.

   The mason levels the bricks carefully with a string line.

   A heavy storm sometimes levels entire fields of corn overnight.

   Note

   One -s form covers literal and figurative uses alike, and the preposition changes with the sense. A mason levels bricks and a storm levels a field, both with a direct object. A court levels a fine on or against someone, while a critic levels an accusation at a target. Used without an object, it can mean drawing even in a game.

   The judge levels a heavy fine against the company.

   The visiting side levels in the final minute.

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