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.
Number of sewage spills the EPA estimates happen each year in the U.S.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
In January, a collapsed sewer pipe outside Washington, D.C., spilled more than 240 million gallons of raw sewage into the Potomac River.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
He previously called the quality of bathing water "a disgrace", adding that issues with sewage discharges were "a very dangerous thing".
From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026
Researchers have identified potential alternatives — including seaweed, cassava waste, single-cell proteins produced by fungi and even sewage.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026
Water from laundry and dishwashing spilled between the feet of those who walked, for the camp had no sewage system.
From "Tasting the Sky" by Ibtisam Barakat
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
