distributary

American  

[dih-strib-yoo-ter-ee] / dɪˈstrɪb jʊˌtɛr i /

noun

distributaries plural

1. an outflowing branch of a stream or river, typically found in a delta (opposed to tributary).

---

distributary British  

/ -trɪ, dɪˈstrɪbjʊtərɪ /

noun

1. one of several outlet streams draining a river, esp on a delta

---

distributary Scientific  

/ dĭ-strĭb′yə-tĕr′ē /

1. A branch of a river that flows away from the main stream.

2. One of the channels in a braided stream.

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• distributaries
  plural

Etymology

Origin of distributary

First recorded in 1535–45; distribute + -ary

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

distributary distributaries

The agency’s master plan calls for punching eight giant holes through the levees on the Mississippi and two more through those on its main distributary, the Atchafalaya.

From The New Yorker ● Mar. 25, 2019

The meander took the Mississippi so far west that it ran into the Atchafalaya, at that time a distributary of a different river, the Red, which itself was a Mississippi tributary.

From The New Yorker ● Mar. 25, 2019

As one part of the delta becomes overwhelmed by sediment, the slow-moving flow gets diverted back and forth, over and over, and forms a spread out network of smaller distributary channels.

From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2017

As distributary channels fill with sediment, the stream is diverted laterally, and the alluvial fan develops into a cone shape with distributaries radiating from the canyon mouth.

From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2017

The most westerly is the Hugli, which receives the waters of a number of distributary channels that start from the parent Ganges above Murshidabad.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 4 "G" to "Gaskell, Elizabeth" by Various

Had the river been left to its own devices, a super-wet spring like that of 2011 would have sent the Mississippi and its distributaries surging over their banks.

From The New Yorker ● Mar. 25, 2019

Every 1,000 years or so, it abandoned its main channel for one of its distributaries.

From Economist ● Aug. 24, 2017

Streams can be divided into three main sections: the many smaller tributaries in the source area, the main trunk stream in the floodplain and the distributaries at the mouth of the stream.

From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2017

The Mississippi River delta is a river-dominated delta, shaped by levees along the river and its distributaries that confine the flow forming a shape called a bird-foot delta.

From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2017

These three western distributaries are known as the Nadia rivers, and are important, not only as great highways for internal traffic, but also as the headwaters of the Hugli.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 13, Slice 8 "Hudson River" to "Hurstmonceaux" by Various