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.
Maxman added that a lack of sanitation and hygiene materials means families are exposed to disease from open sewage, and vital water and sanitation systems and services are still destroyed or in disrepair.
From Barron's • May 21, 2026
Fellow campaigner Di Leary points at the sewage overflow pipe on the other side of the river.
From BBC • May 15, 2026
County officials — and many residents, included Hanisee — would like to connect these pockets of Altadena to the county sewage system.
From Los Angeles Times • May 15, 2026
Water quality at coastal locations is generally much better than inland, with rivers frequently polluted by sewage discharges and agricultural run-off.
From BBC • May 15, 2026
Perhaps not as strong as the actual mutts, but purer, because it’s not competing with sewage and explosives.
From "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins
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.
