sluice
sluice Lexical Profile
sluice Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A sliding gate or other device for controlling the flow of water out of or into a canal, lake, or river, or the artificial channel itself.
"The lockkeeper opened the sluice to equalize the water level between the two sections of the canal."
A long, sloping trough fitted with cleats or grooves on the bottom, used by miners to wash gold or other heavy minerals from gravel and sand.
"Prospectors shoveled river gravel into the wooden sluice, letting the running water separate the heavy gold flakes."
An act of rinsing, washing, or flushing something with a sudden stream of water.
"After working in the muddy garden, he gave his boots a quick sluice under the outdoor tap."
• verb
To wash, rinse, or flush thoroughly with a sudden, abundant stream of water.
"The fishermen sluiced down the wooden deck with buckets of seawater at the end of their shift."
To flow, pour, or stream out freely in a heavy rush (of water or liquid).
"Rainwater sluiced down the clogged gutters and flooded the cobblestone courtyard."
• Rhymes for sluice
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed into Middle English from Old French escluse ('floodgate'), ultimately from Late Latin exclusa ('water shut out'), from the verb excludere ('to shut out').