sluice

noun \ ˈslüs \

Updated on: 16 Nov 2017

Definition of sluice

1 a : an artificial passage for water (as in a millstream) fitted with a valve or gate for stopping or regulating flow

b : a body of water pent up behind a floodgate

2 : a dock gate : floodgate

3 a : a stream flowing through a floodgate

b : a channel to drain or carry off surplus water

4 : a long inclined trough usually on the ground; especially : such a contrivance paved usually with riffles to hold quicksilver for catching gold

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Recent Examples of sluice from the Web

Using funds from a bond sale and state and federal grants, the city has been refurbishing sluice gates in a canal that were built to control floodwaters but haven’t worked in more than half a century.

— john upton, Scientific American, "The Injustice of Atlantic City’s Floods," 14 May 2017
His tiebreaking hit was the speck of gold in so many dull sluice pans.

— andrew baggarly, The Mercury News, "For first time in two years (really!), Giants come back in ninth to win," 10 May 2017
On a recent morning, not a drop came out of the dam’s sluices.

— norimitsu onishi, New York Times, "More Reporting on Climate Change," 12 Apr. 2016
Our son delighted in sifting through mining rough in the water sluice to discover fool's gold, rose quartz, malachite and lapis lazuli.

— kristen jordan shamus, Detroit Free Press, "Have kids, will travel. Why you should take your children with you on vacation," 16 July 2017
Besides these obstacles, possible showers in the Sunday forecast may turn oil spatters and tire grit into a slippery sluice, following a record 53 or more days without measurable precipitation.

— mike lindblom, The Seattle Times, "Seattle’s Montlake Bridge to close: Your guide to weekend traffic woes," 10 Aug. 2017
And the influence of the money power goes beyond the money that sluices into campaigns.

— charles p. pierce, Esquire, "What Is the Keystone Pipeline Fight Really About?," 8 Aug. 2017
The water sluices there through more than 400 miles of pipes, many of which lead into and then exit treatment plants that strip out iron, manganese and other minerals before disinfecting it with chlorine bleach and other chemicals.

— carl prine, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Marines: Camp Pendleton water safe, clean," 1 Oct. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'sluice.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of sluice

Middle English sluse, alteration of scluse, from Anglo-French escluse, from Late Latin exclusa, from Latin, feminine of exclusus, past participle of excludere to exclude

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

See Words from the same year

Other Civil Engineering Terms

asphalt, ballast, barrage, cantilever, infrastructure

sluice

verb

Definition of sluice

sluiced; sluicing

transitive verb

1 : to draw off by or through a sluice

2 a : to wash with or in water running through or from a sluice

b : to drench with a sudden flow : flush

3 : to transport (logs) in a sluice

intransitive verb

: to pour as if from a sluice

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Examples of sluice in a Sentence

he sluiced the gutters with lots of water in order to make sure they were clear

Recent Examples of sluice from the Web

The crew of the Fitzgerald seemed to figure out the source of the flooding, isolating the affected chambers while setting up pumps to sluice the water overboard, Lopez said.

— carl prine, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Sailors train over and over for disasters like the deadly Fitzgerald crash," 21 June 2017
The old world was dissolving, all the grime of the past sluicing away in digital rain.

— steve erickson, New York Times, "Sonic Youth: Cultural Appropriations of Two Musical Hipsters," 29 Mar. 2017
This is a girl who loves the feel of water sluicing around her limbs, who until recently was working on her underwater swimming, who takes every opportunity to spend time in the water.

— mary carole mccauley, baltimoresun.com, "Patients with paralysis learn how to scuba dive at the Kennedy Krieger Institute," 12 Aug. 2017
Panning or sluicing for shiny flakes in a stream near Blewett Pass — or anywhere the gold bug takes you — can be rewarding in more ways than one.

— jeff layton, The Seattle Times, "Modern-day prospectors find a little bit of gold and a lot of time outdoors," 9 Aug. 2017
The idea for a self-sluicing house began to percolate.

— ny times syndication, NOLA.com, "Inventor of the self-cleaning house, Frances Gabe, dies at 101," 19 July 2017
Manafort and Gates are said to have controlled foreign accounts through which their Ukrainian political-consulting income sluiced, and to have failed to file accurate FBARs and tax returns.

— andrew c. mccarthy, National Review, "The Manafort Indictment: Not Much There, and a Boon for Trump," 30 Oct. 2017

First Known Use of sluice

1596

sluice Synonyms

Synonyms

irrigate, rinse, flush, wash, wash out

Related Words

deluge, engulf, flood, inundate, swamp; flow, gush, rush, stream; douche, hose; drench, saturate, soak; douse (also dowse), slosh, splash

SLUICE Defined for English Language Learners

sluice

noun

Definition of sluice for English Language Learners

: an artificial passage for water to flow through with a gate for controlling the flow
: a device (such as a floodgate) used for controlling the flow of water