sewer

¹ American  

[soo-er] / ˈsu ər /

noun

1. an artificial conduit, usually underground, for carrying off waste water and refuse, as in a town or city.

---

verb (used with object)

1. to provide or equip with sewers.

   a tax increase necessary to sewer the neighborhood.

sewer ² American  

[soh-er] / ˈsoʊ ər /

noun

1. a person or thing that sews.

---

sewer ³ American  

[soo-er] / ˈsu ər /

noun

1. a former household officer or head servant in charge of the service of the table.

---

sewer ¹ British  

/ ˈsuːə /

noun

1. a drain or pipe, esp one that is underground, used to carry away surface water or sewage

---

verb

1. (tr) to provide with sewers

sewer ² British  

/ ˈsəʊə /

noun

1. a person or thing that sews

---

sewer ³ British  

/ ˈsuːə /

noun

1. (in medieval England) a servant of high rank in charge of the serving of meals and the seating of guests

---

Other Word Forms

• sewerless adjective
• sewerlike adjective

Etymology

Origin of sewer¹

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English suer(e) “drainage ditch,” from dialectal Old French se(u)wiere “overflow channel, pond sluice” (compare Old French ess(e)ouer(e) “ditch”), from unrecorded Vulgar Latin exaquāria “drain for carrying water off,” equivalent to Latin ex- “out of, away” + aquāria “pertaining to water” (feminine singular of aquārius ); -ary ( def. ), -er ², sew ²

Origin of sewer²

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English sewer(e), souere, sower; sew ¹, -er ¹

Origin of sewer³

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English sever(e), sewerer “attendant who served or tasted his master's food,” shortened form of Anglo-French asseour “one who sets the table, seater,” equivalent to Old French asse(oir) “to seat” (from Latin assidēre “to attend upon”) + -our; assiduous, -or ² )

Example Sentences

They raised funds by showing investors a $10,000 research reactor constructed from fiberglass sewer pipe wrapped in speaker wire.

From The Wall Street Journal

He said acquiring the additional sewer capacity would cost as much as $12 million.

From The Wall Street Journal

“Hey, there’s someone down there,” one of the workers wearing an orange vest said, pointing into the sewer at West 88th Street and South Grand Avenue.

From Los Angeles Times

A study found the problem was worse in urban areas, with pesticides reaching streams through misconnected sewers and discharges from waste-water treatment plants after pets and their bedding were washed.

From BBC

The room was so small, they had to take turns if they wanted to lie down, and placed a piece of cardboard over a sewer hole as a makeshift mattress.

From BBC

Related Words

• gutter
• septic tank
• sewage system