weir

Meaning

1. An adjustable dam placed across a river to regulate the flow of water downstream.
2. A fence placed across a river to catch fish.
3. (obsolete) Seaweed.

Synonyms

dam

dike

embankment

dyke

fish trap

barrage

fish pond

bank

🏦

sluice gate

spillway

water gate

weep hole

cut-off wall

fish weir

spill way

exhaust outlet

weir plate

dam baffle

bay

lasher

overfall

pen

🖊️

penstock

sinker

sluice

Pronounced as (IPA)

/wɪə/

Etymology

From Middle English were, from Old English wer, from werian (“to dam up”), from Proto-West Germanic *warjan, from Proto-Germanic *warjaną, from Proto-Indo-European *wer- (“to cover”); Cognate with Old Norse ver (“station for fishing”), Sanskrit वृणोति (vṛṇóti). Related to warranty.