culvert
Americannoun
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
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.
A lawyer for Fiona Donohoe, Noah's mother, explained to the inquest that the teenager died after "having got access through a hatch or bars" at the culvert.
From BBC • May 8, 2026
McKee explained that homeowners had not raised any safety concerns about the culvert.
From BBC • May 8, 2026
The bridge spans a culvert, maintained by the city.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 28, 2026
A hole might have formed in the culvert from rust, age, damage, or other causes, leading water to seep from the soil fill into the culvert, weakening the structure.
From Slate • Oct. 17, 2025
Frightful dropped to the ground and, as the eagle dove once more, ran into Mole’s culvert.
From "Frightful's Mountain" by Jean Craighead George
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.
