effluent

American  

[ef-loo-uhnt] / ˈɛf lu ənt /

adjective

1. flowing out or forth.

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noun

1. something that flows out or forth; outflow; effluence.

2. a stream flowing out of a lake, reservoir, etc.

3. sewage that has been treated in a septic tank or sewage treatment plant.

4. sewage or other liquid waste that is discharged into a body of water, etc.

effluent British  

/ ˈɛflʊənt /

noun

1. liquid discharged as waste, as from an industrial plant or sewage works

2. radioactive waste released from a nuclear power station

3. a stream that flows out of another body of water

4. something that flows out or forth

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adjective

1. flowing out or forth

effluent Scientific  

/ ĕf′lo̅o̅-ənt /

1. Flowing out or forth.

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1. A stream flowing out of a body of water.

2. An outflow or discharge of liquid waste, as from a sewage system, factory, or nuclear plant.

Other Word Forms

• supereffluent adjective

Etymology

Origin of effluent

1720–30; < Latin effluent- (stem of effluēns flowing out, present participle of effluere ), equivalent to ef- ef- + flu- flow + -ent- -ent

Example Sentences

But we might run low on other water, which will make effluent increasingly important—and in demand—in times of scarcity.

From Slate • May 26, 2025

But many questions remain: Where would the effluent from a PCH sewer be treated?

From Los Angeles Times • May 11, 2025

In 1994, she successfully advocated for “zero discharge” agreements from Formosa and the aluminum manufacturer Alcoa to stop liquid effluent pollution.

From Salon • Dec. 5, 2024

The new study is unusual in that it calculated the mass of microplastics in landfill leachate and wastewater influent and effluent.

From Science Daily • Nov. 19, 2024

The effluent glacier seems to run on a long curve westerly up to the Gobrin plateau.

From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin

Related Words

• sewerage