1. embankments built along rivers or coasts to prevent flooding
2. formal receptions held by a person of high rank
Usage: formal; historical

Examples

• The city built new levees to protect against river flooding.
• Hurricane damage breached several levees along the coast.
• Engineers inspected the levees before the rainy season.
• The Mississippi River levees stretch for hundreds of miles.
• The governor attended the morning levees at the palace.
• Diplomatic levees were common in 18th-century courts.