Definition of "floodway" [floodway]

• A channel for an overflow of water caused by flooding. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The floodway is a mix of public and private lands with easements giving the government the right to let water pass through."
• "The Corps' breaching of the levee activated the floodway, which is diverting water for 35 miles before returning it to the Mississippi at New Madrid, Mo."
• "So the provincial and federal governments got together and built the floodway, which is basically a giant ditch around the city."