culvert
Americannoun
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culverts
plural
noun
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a drain or covered channel that crosses under a road, railway, etc
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a channel for an electric cable
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a tunnel through which water is pumped into or out of a dry dock
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of culvert
First recorded in 1765–75; origin uncertain
Explanation
A culvert is a drain — but not the kind that drains your bathtub or empties your bank account. A culvert is any kind of channel or tunnel that directs unwanted water away from roads and other corridors of travel. A culvert is typically built underground to prevent inconveniently located streams and rain runoff from flooding roads, highways, streets, and railroads. Culvert can also be used as a verb: if water pools in your driveway and then seeps into the foundation of your house, soaking the brand-new carpet in the basement that you thought you’d just waterproofed, you might wonder why the builders didn’t culvert that underground stream.
Vocabulary lists containing culvert
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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:
Hottle and another passenger were in a 1995 Honda Accord driven by a 19-year-old man when it veered off a two-lane highway and struck a culvert, according to Frederick County Sheriff's Office.
From Barron's ● Jul. 21, 2026
He was last seen at Northwood Road in north Belfast close to waste ground where a culvert entrance to an underground water system is located.
From BBC ● Jun. 25, 2026
The witness was also asked by the lawyer about safety issues that could have arisen for local families whose back gardens adjoin the waste ground where the culvert is located.
From BBC ● May 8, 2026
The bridge spans a culvert, maintained by the city.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 28, 2026
He slid out of the culvert slowly; his legs were stiff from being drawn up near his belly for warmth.
From "Ceremony:" by Leslie Marmon Silko
Sometimes at the bottom of those undulations are culverts, or Department of Homeland Security vehicles will pop up.
From Slate ● Feb. 2, 2026
Human waste spilled out of the overflowing communal latrines near Nyariaka’s house and into the fetid water filling the culverts.
From Salon ● Dec. 16, 2025
Local authorities were hampered by limited budgets and - because many culverts cross public and private land - there were unclear responsibilities for maintenance.
From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2025
Some aid may continue to be available through other federal agencies such as the Department of Transportation, which could help with rebuilding highways, putting up road barriers and cleaning culverts, Garamendi said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 31, 2024
Some found the sewer and some worked their way up the hill to the reservoir and some went into culverts and some only hid among the weeds in the vacant lot.
From "Cannery Row" by John Steinbeck
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.
