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headwaters

American

[hed-waw-terz, -wot-erz] / ˈhɛdˌwɔ tərz, -ˌwɒt ərz /

plural noun

Sometimes headwater the upper tributaries of a river.

headwaters British

/ ˈhɛdˌwɔːtəz /

plural noun

the tributary streams of a river in the area in which it rises; headstreams

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of headwaters

1525–35; head + waters, plural of water

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.

Its life cycle includes a journey of 11,000 kilometers from Andean headwaters to coastal nursery areas.

From Science Daily • Mar. 26, 2026

Beaver officer Lauren Jasper said the sites were chosen because they offered strong habitat at the headwaters, good damming potential and an existing local flood risk.

From BBC • Mar. 14, 2026

It is often referred to as the headwaters of California because its lakes and aquifers help provide clean drinking water to the rest of the state.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 12, 2025

The water that flows into the North Fork Reservoir, which serves Asheville and the towns of Black Mountain and Swannanoa, always ran clear and clean from its headwaters high in Pisgah National Forest.

From Salon • Nov. 25, 2024

By now they had likely reached the headwaters of the Blackwater Rush, she decided.

From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023