noun / adjective
tributary
TRIB-yuh-tair-ee/ˈtrɪbjəteri/
A stream flowing into a larger stream.
The narrow tributary flows into the larger river.
Etymology
Tributary first described someone or something owing tribute. Applied to rivers, the idea became “furnishing a subsidiary supply”: a smaller stream contributes water to a larger one.
In context
it's a intermittent tributary that flows into the Mill River The Mill River does not flow along the back of this property
More examples
- Several tributaries join the river upstream.
- The map marks a small tributary stream.
- Pollution entered the main channel through a tributary.
Forms
tributary · tributaries
Similar words
- stream
- Stream is a general flowing body of water; tributary identifies its relationship to a larger stream it joins.
- distributary
- A distributary branches away from a river; a tributary flows into one.