I. lev ‧ el 1 S1 W1 /ˈlev ə l/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: livel , from Latin libella , from libra 'weight, balance' ]
1 . AMOUNT the amount or degree of something, compared to another amount or degree:
Inflation fell to its lowest level in 30 years.
level of
Increased supplies are needed to meet the level of demand.
Dolphins show a high level of intelligence.
2 . STANDARD a particular standard of skill or ability, for example in education or sport
at ... level
Students at this level may have problems with basic grammar.
What level do you think you’re at?
beginner/advanced/national etc level
Few athletes can compete at international level.
an advanced-level coursebook
⇨ ↑ A level
3 . HEIGHT the height of something in relation to the ground or to another object
at ... level
Your arms should be at the same level as your desk.
eye/knee/shoulder etc level (=the same height as your eyes etc)
Skirts this year are just above knee level.
water/oil etc level (=the height of the water etc from the ground or the bottom of a container)
Check the water level in the car radiator.
⇨ ↑ ground level , ↑ sea level
4 . FLOOR/GROUND a floor or area of ground that is at a particular height, especially when you can go up or down to other floors or areas
on ... level
Didn’t we park the car on Level 2?
The town is built on different levels.
The medical center is on one level (=so that you do not have to go up or down) .
⇨ ↑ split-level
5 . RANK OF JOB a particular position in a system that has different ranks of importance
at ... level
Training is offered at each level in the department.
at board/management/senior etc level
Further talks at ministerial level were held.
⇨ ↑ high-level , ↑ low-level
6 . WAY OF UNDERSTANDING a way of considering or understanding something
on ... level
The story can be understood on many different levels.
on a personal/practical/superficial etc level
I agree with you, but only on a theoretical level.
7 . at local/state/national etc level happening within a small area or the whole area of a state, country etc:
These changes are taking place at regional level.
8 . be on the level informal to be honest and legal:
This is all on the level, right?
9 . descend/sink to sb’s level to behave as badly as someone:
If you hit him back, you’ll only be descending to his level.
10 . TOOL a tool used for checking that a surface is flat SYN spirit-level
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + level
▪ high
The level of salt in his diet was too high.
▪ low
The level of violent crime is lower than ten years ago.
▪ a record level (=the highest ever level)
Sales have reached record levels.
▪ noise/pollution levels
Noise levels are unacceptably high.
▪ price/income/wage levels
Wage levels had failed to keep up with inflation.
▪ stress level
I find exercise helps with my stress levels.
▪ energy/fitness level
Her fitness level is better than that of most 20-year-olds.
■ verbs
▪ a level rises/goes up/increases
The level of unemployment has increased.
▪ a level falls/goes down/decreases
Pollution levels have fallen slightly.
▪ achieve/reach a level
China’s imports of wheat reached record levels.
▪ remain/stay at a level
The fees are likely to remain at current levels.
▪ maintain a level
It's difficult to maintain the same level of physical fitness.
▪ increase a level
Healthy eating can increase your energy level.
▪ reduce a level
He made an effort to reduce his stress levels.
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ amount how much of something there is:
Try to reduce the amount of fat in your diet.
|
a tiny amount of poison
▪ quantity a particular amount of food, liquid, or another substance that can be measured – used especially in written descriptions and instructions:
Make sure that you add the right quantity of milk.
|
They buy the wood in large quantities.
▪ volume the amount of something such as business activity or traffic, especially when this is large or increasing:
The volume of traffic on our roads has risen sharply.
|
the huge volume of trade with China
▪ level the exact amount of something at one time, which can go up or down at other times:
They measured the level of alcohol in his blood.
|
There is a high level of unemployment.
▪ proportion the amount of something, compared with the whole amount that exists:
the proportion of road accidents caused by drunk drivers
|
A high proportion of the students were from poor families.
▪ quota a maximum amount of something that can be produced, sold, brought into a country etc:
import quotas on Japanese cars
▪ yield /jiːld/ the amount of something that is produced, especially crops:
this year’s cotton yield
II. level 2 S1 W2 BrE AmE adjective
1 . flat and not sloping in any direction:
The floors in the old house were not completely level.
a level surface suitable for wheelchairs
2 .
a) two things that are level are at the same height as each other
level with
Your eyes should be level with the top of the screen.
The curtains aren’t quite level.
b) British English two sports teams, competitors etc that are level have the same number of points
level with
Before the weekend, Madrid was level with Barcelona.
They finished level, with ten points each.
⇨ ↑ level-pegging
c) having the same value or position as something or someone else
level with
Borrowing rates rose to over 8%, roughly level with those in America.
He cycled along beside her, keeping level.
3 . a level playing field a situation in which different people, companies, countries etc can all compete fairly because no one has special advantages:
Small businesses want to compete on a level playing field with larger ones.
4 . do your level best (to do something) to try as hard as possible to do something:
I’ll do my level best to help you.
5 . level voice/look/gaze a steady voice, look etc that shows you are calm or determined
6 . level teaspoon/cup etc (of something) an amount of a substance that fills a spoon, cup etc to the top but no more, used as a measure in cooking ⇨ heaped :
Add one level teaspoon of salt.
⇨ draw level at ↑ draw 1 (11)
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ flat on one level, without any holes or raised areas, and not sloping or curving:
a flat roof
|
a flat screen
|
Before you lay the tiles, make sure that the ground is completely flat.
▪ level not sloping in any direction, so that every part is at the same height:
Is the top of this picture level?
|
After four hours coming down the mountain, I was glad to be back on level ground.
▪ smooth without any holes or raised areas – used especially when saying how something feels when you touch it:
her lovely smooth skin
|
I ran my hand across the animal’s smooth fur.
▪ even without any holes or raised areas:
Apply the paint to an even surface.
|
Be careful – the path is not very even here.
▪ horizontal going straight across and not sloping:
a horizontal line
|
Raise both arms to a horizontal position.
III. level 3 BrE AmE verb ( past tense and past participle levelled , present participle levelling British English , leveled , leveling American English )
1 . [transitive] ( also level something ↔ off/out ) to make something flat and smooth:
Workers leveled the wet concrete with a piece of wood.
Cover with a layer of sand and level it off.
2 . [transitive] to knock down or destroy a building or area completely:
Bombs levelled a large part of the town.
3 . [intransitive and transitive] British English to make the score in a game or competition equal:
He slipped the ball into the net to level the score at 1/1.
United went ahead but the visitors levelled in the 73rd minute.
4 . level the playing field to make a situation in which people are competing fair, with no one having special advantages
5 . level criticism/charges/accusations etc at/against somebody to aim criticism etc at a particular person, country etc, especially publicly:
the criticism levelled at the United States
Serious allegations were levelled against the minister.
level something at somebody/something phrasal verb
to aim something such as a weapon at someone or something:
Slowly he levelled his gun at the tiger.
level off/out phrasal verb
1 . to stop going up or down and continue at the same height:
After climbing steeply, the path levelled off.
The plane levelled out at 30,000 feet.
2 . to stop rising or falling and become steady:
Inflation has begun to level off.
3 . level something ↔ off/out to make something flat and smooth
level with somebody phrasal verb informal
to speak honestly to someone, after hiding some unpleasant facts from them:
She decided to level with him and tell him how she felt.
⇨ be on the level at ↑ level 1 (8)