sewage
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of sewage
Explanation
The waste water that flows down drains and through pipes from toilets and sinks is called sewage. There's nothing quite like smelling sewage on a hot summer day. Have you ever wondered where the soapy, dirty water from your washing machine goes after your clothes are clean? It flows down the drain into a pipe, and is carried with other sewage out to the street and your city's wastewater system, or into a private septic tank. Sewage comes from the now-obsolete verb sew, "to drain or draw off water."
Vocabulary lists containing sewage
The Omnivore's Dilemma
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for June 8–June 14, 2025
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Unit 9, Week 3
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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.
"When sewage sludges are spread across the fields, those toxic compounds could be released into the air," Katz said.
From Science Daily • Apr. 11, 2026
They frequently appear in wastewater and can end up in biosolid fertilizer, also called sewage sludge, which is produced during wastewater treatment.
From Science Daily • Apr. 11, 2026
Sobbing and sewage might seem an odd combination — unless the subject is “Malcolm in the Middle.”
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 10, 2026
"Where's the sewage supposed to go?" he asked.
From BBC • Apr. 4, 2026
Every time blood went down the drain, they would pour bleach after it— they didn’t want Ebola getting into the Reston sewage system.
From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston
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.
