freshet

[ fresh-it ]
See synonyms for freshet on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a freshwater stream flowing into the sea.

  2. a sudden rise in the level of a stream, or a flood, caused by heavy rains or the rapid melting of snow and ice.

Origin of freshet

1
First recorded in 1590–1600; fresh (noun) + -et

synonym study For freshet

2. See flood.

Words Nearby freshet

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use freshet in a sentence

  • A large stone set in a secure place surely is a better boundary than a wayward stream whose course is changed by every freshet.

  • The road was plainly marked, but the last freshet had sprinkled it with stones, large and small.

    Motor Matt's "Century" Run | Stanley R. Matthews
  • We came down with the tide in the rear of the trunk freshet.

    Over the Rocky Mountains to Alaska | Charles Warren Stoddard
  • Horley Bottom, where the hay used to be frequently carried into the river by a June freshet, was now safe from flood.

    The Hills and the Vale | Richard Jefferies
  • And it is a lively stream when there happens to be a freshet and both forks are pouring a flood down into it.

    The Pony Rider Boys in Texas | Frank Gee Patchin

British Dictionary definitions for freshet

freshet

/ (ˈfrɛʃɪt) /


noun
  1. the sudden overflowing of a river caused by heavy rain or melting snow

  2. a stream of fresh water emptying into the sea

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012