aqueduct
Americannoun
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aqueducts
plural
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Civil Engineering.
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a conduit or artificial channel for conducting water from a distance, usually by means of gravity.
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a bridgelike structure that carries a water conduit or canal across a valley or over a river.
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Anatomy. a canal or passage through which liquids pass.
noun
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a conduit used to convey water over a long distance, either by a tunnel or more usually by a bridge
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a structure, usually a bridge, that carries such a conduit or a canal across a valley or river
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a channel in an organ or part of the body, esp one that conveys a natural body fluid
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of aqueduct
< Medieval Latin aquēductus < Latin aquae ductus a drawing off of water. See aqua, duct
Explanation
An aqueduct is a bridge-like system built to move water from one location to another. The ancient Romans were particularly famous for their aqueducts and some still stand today. The Romans didn't invent aqueducts, but they did help spawn the English word for one. Aqueduct comes from the Latin word aquæductus, which itself is from the roots aqua, meaning water, and ducere, meaning "to lead." Because of the root word aqua, there is a tendency to try to spell aqueduct with an A in place of the E, but now you'll know better.
Vocabulary lists containing aqueduct
Lead the Way: Duc and Duct
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Vocabulary from Beyoncé's "Lemonade"
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Elements of the Universe: Aqua ("Water")
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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 aqueduct seemed to make the city’s founding river not just obsolete but dangerous, so construction began on catch basins, dams and reservoirs.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026
The turmoil in Istanbul played out in the shadow of a Roman aqueduct.
From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2025
Located in the middle of Mexico, Querétaro is a charming and colourful colonial-style city known for its dazzling stone aqueduct.
From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2025
Water began to flow through the aqueduct in 1939 as the pumping plants were tested.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 27, 2025
They met by the aqueduct, which had somehow survived the battle so far.
From "The Son of Neptune" by Rick Riordan
They were ancient Italy’s first great engineers, ambitious road-builders who drained land for development and showed the Romans how to build their famous aqueducts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026
Even during periods of low flow, pumps at the southern end of the delta that feed the aqueducts could operate longer.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026
The museum suffered damage, its windows were blown out, but the explosion did not reach the necropolis nor the Roman-era triumphal arch, aqueducts and hippodrome that are also part of the site.
From Barron's ● Mar. 24, 2026
The Romans built aqueducts because they thought the gods demanded clean water.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 25, 2025
“They built aqueducts, roads—” “Siege weapons,” Frank added.
From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
