Meaning & use
level
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
A position on a scale that measures amount, importance, difficulty, or quality.
Grammar: Countable: 'a level', 'levels'. Often followed by 'of' to show what is being measured: 'level of difficulty'.
Patterns
- level of something
- at a high level
- increase the level of something
The level of pollution in the river has dropped since the new rules.
Her English is at an advanced level.
We need to raise the level of customer satisfaction.
nouncountable
A particular height or floor in a building, especially one that is above or below ground.
Grammar: Countable: 'the ground level', 'the third level'. In British English 'floor' is more common for stories of a building.
Patterns
- on the ground level
- at sea level
- the upper level
The restaurant is on the second level of the shopping mall.
Water was found at a depth of three meters below ground level.
The parking garage has five levels.
nouncountable
A tool shaped like a long straight bar, used to check whether a surface is flat or straight.
Grammar: Countable: 'a level', 'levels'. Also called a 'spirit level'.
Patterns
- use a level
- check something with a level
The carpenter used a level to make sure the shelf was straight.
You'll need a level to hang the picture evenly.
adjectivenot comparable
Flat and even, with no part higher or lower than another.
Grammar: Usually not graded: something is level or not level. You can say 'perfectly level'.
Patterns
- be level
- make something level
- perfectly level
Make sure the table is level before you put the vase on it.
The ground was not level, so the tent leaned to one side.
verbtransitive
To make something flat and even, or to destroy a building completely.
Grammar: Takes an object: 'level the ground', 'level the building'. For destruction, often used in passive: 'was leveled by the bomb'.
Patterns
- level something
- level something with something
- be leveled by something
The bulldozer leveled the site before construction began.
The earthquake leveled hundreds of homes.
He leveled the sand with a rake.
Word forms
| plural | levels |
|---|---|
| third person singular | levels |
| past tense | leveled |
| past participle | leveled |
| -ing form | leveling |
| comparative | leveler |
| superlative | levelest |
Common combinations
- sea level
- The mountain rises 2,000 meters above sea level.
- level of difficulty
- The test has a high level of difficulty.
- high level
- She attended a high-level meeting with the president.
- level the playing field
- New rules were introduced to level the playing field for small businesses.
- on a personal level
- I like him on a personal level, but not as a manager.
Synonyms and how they differ
- degree
- Often used for a measured amount of something, like 'a high degree of skill'; 'level' is more common when talking about stages or standards.
- standard
- Focuses on what is expected or required; 'level' focuses on a point on a scale.
- flat
- Describes a surface with no bumps or slopes; 'level' emphasizes being even and horizontal.
Opposites
Word family
- leveling noun
- The act of making something flat or equal.
- leveler noun
- A person or thing that makes things equal or flat.
Commonly confused: level or lever?
level vs lever
A lever is a bar used to lift or move something. Level is about height, flatness, or a stage on a scale.
Practice
The teacher asked the students to check the ______ of the water in the tank.
Choose one answer.
Level means the height or amount of something, so 'level of the water' is correct. Lever is a lifting bar, levee is a flood wall, and levy is a tax.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “level”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.