level

adjective · noun · verb

Simple meaning

The same height at all places.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

lehvuhl

Say the bold part a little louder.

US device voice

IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈlɛvəl

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

adjective

The same height at all places; parallel to a flat ground.
In the same position or rank.
Unvaried in frequency.
Unvaried in volume.
Well balanced; even; just; steady; impartial.
Straightforward; direct; clear.

noun

A tool for finding whether a surface is level, or for creating a horizontal or vertical line of reference.
A distance relative to a given reference elevation.
A position on a scale of intensity or amount or quality
A relative position or degree of value in a graded group
Degree or amount.
british
An area of almost perfectly flat land.

verb

transitive
To adjust so as to make as flat or perpendicular to the ground as possible.
Direct into a position for use
transitive
To aim or direct (a weapon, a stare, an accusation, etc).
“Level criticism or charges at somebody.”
transitive
To direct or impose (a penalty, fine, etc) at or upon (someone) [with on or against or at].
transitivefigurative
To bring to a common level or plane, in respect of rank, condition, character, privilege, etc.
transitive
To destroy by reducing to ground level; to raze.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty: A1 · Beginner
Frequency: Very Common
Typical Use: Everyday English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: The same height at all places; parallel to a flat ground.

Used this way, level is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone: Neutral
Formality: Neutral
Intensity: Not strongly marked
How common: Moderately common
Connotation: No strong connotation
Usage feel: Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use level

“What level is the office on?”noun

Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Inflected forms

Grammatical variations of the same word.

levelingnounInflected form
Changing the ground level to a smooth horizontal or gently sloping surface.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

level offverbCompound term
Become level or even.
level bestnounCompound term
The greatest possible degree.
level crossingnounCompound term
Intersection of a railway and a road on the same level.
brightness levelnounCompound term
The quality of being luminous.
carpenter's levelnounCompound term
A straight bar of light metal with a spirit level in it.
college levelnounCompound term
The level of education that college students are assumed to have attained.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

adjective

Sense: same height at all places

even

noun

Sense: tool for finding whether a surface is level

planestoreyhorizontal surfacetier

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.