dike Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun (slang) offensive term for a lesbian who is noticeably masculine
    butch; dyke.
  2. noun a barrier constructed to contain the flow of water or to keep out the sea
    dam; dyke.
  3. verb enclose with a dike
    dyke.
    • dike the land to protect it from water

WordNet

Dike noun
Etymology
OE. dic, dike, diche, ditch, AS. dc dike, ditch; akin to D. dijk dike, G. deich, and prob. teich pond, Icel. dki dike, ditch, Dan. dige; perh. akin to Gr. (for ) wall, and even E. dough; or perh. to Gr. pool, marsh. Cf. Ditch.
Definitions
  1. A ditch; a channel for water made by digging.
    Little channels or dikes cut to every bed. Ray.
  2. An embankment to prevent inundations; a levee.
    Dikes that the hands of the farmers had raised . . . Shut out the turbulent tides. Longfellow.
  3. A wall of turf or stone. Scot.
  4. (Geol.) A wall-like mass of mineral matter, usually an intrusion of igneous rocks, filling up rents or fissures in the original strata.
Dike transitive verb
Etymology
OE. diken, dichen, AS. dician to dike. See Dike.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Diked ; present participle & verbal noun Diking
Definitions
  1. To surround or protect with a dike or dry bank; to secure with a bank.
  2. To drain by a dike or ditch.
Dike intransitive verb
Definitions
  1. To work as a ditcher; to dig. Obs.
    He would thresh and thereto dike and delve. Chaucer.

Webster 1913