distributary
Americannoun
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distributaries
plural
noun
-
A branch of a river that flows away from the main stream.
-
One of the channels in a braided stream.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of distributary
First recorded in 1535–45; distribute + -ary
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The meander took the Mississippi so far west that it ran into the Atchafalaya, at that time a distributary of a different river, the Red, which itself was a Mississippi tributary.
From The New Yorker ● Mar. 25, 2019
The agency’s master plan calls for punching eight giant holes through the levees on the Mississippi and two more through those on its main distributary, the Atchafalaya.
From The New Yorker ● Mar. 25, 2019
As one part of the delta becomes overwhelmed by sediment, the slow-moving flow gets diverted back and forth, over and over, and forms a spread out network of smaller distributary channels.
From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2017
As distributary channels fill with sediment, the stream is diverted laterally, and the alluvial fan develops into a cone shape with distributaries radiating from the canyon mouth.
From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2017
The outer part of this zone branches out into dark lines, which occupy all the surrounding region, and seem to be distributary canals by which the liquid mass may return to its natural position.
From The Certainty of a Future Life in Mars by L. P. Gratacap
Had the river been left to its own devices, a super-wet spring like that of 2011 would have sent the Mississippi and its distributaries surging over their banks.
From The New Yorker ● Mar. 25, 2019
Every 1,000 years or so, it abandoned its main channel for one of its distributaries.
From Economist ● Aug. 24, 2017
Streams can be divided into three main sections: the many smaller tributaries in the source area, the main trunk stream in the floodplain and the distributaries at the mouth of the stream.
From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2017
As distributary channels fill with sediment, the stream is diverted laterally, and the alluvial fan develops into a cone shape with distributaries radiating from the canyon mouth.
From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2017
Like other deltaic distributaries, they are subject to sudden changes in their channels, and to constant silting up.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 13, Slice 8 "Hudson River" to "Hurstmonceaux" by Various
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