Weir Meaning
/wɪə̯/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounAn adjustable dam placed across a river to regulate the flow of water downstream.
nounA fence placed across a river to catch fish.
Sentence Examples
There was a weir across the river here, but it never caught many fish.
The lock on the weir was released for the boat to pass through.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The engineers built a ____ across the river to control the water flow.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
A ____ is a small dam that is built across a river to control the flow of several water through it today.
Word Origin & History
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.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Though Hambleden's parish register records the death, in 1753, of a bargeman 'Kill'd by accident, shooting ye lock', the turbulent waters of Mill End weir on the River Thames, about a mile from the village, still attract canoeists."
— 1980, AA Book of British Villages, Drive Publications Ltd, page 214, photo caption:
"The weir must not represent a physical barrier to fish migration, both locally and throughout the whole river system. If necessary, a fishway is included in the weir."
— 1997, J. H. L'Abée-Lund, J. E. Brittain, “Weir construction as environmental mitigation in Norwegian hydropower schemes”, in Hydropower '97, pages 51–54:
"A walkway over the weir is likely to be useful for the removal of floating debris trapped by the weir, or for working staunches and sluices on it as the rate of flow changes."
— 2010, Sathesh Gopi, Basic Civil Engineering, page 303:
"The Taff is naturally a good salmon river, the Ely a sea trout river, but what with weirs and pollusions the fish have been pretty well exterminated."
— 1879, Annual Report of the Inspectors of Salmon Fisheries, page 65:
"The weir catch of mackerel at Monomoy and along Cape Cod has been a failure."
— 1887, W. A. Wilcox, “58-New England Fisheries in May, 1886”, in Bulletin of the United States Fish Commission, volume VI, published 1886, page 191:
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CEFR Practice Quiz
The engineers built a ____ across the river to control the water flow.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
A ____ is a small dam that is built across a river to control the flow of several water through it today.