tributary

American  

[trib-yuh-ter-ee] / ˈtrɪb yəˌtɛr i /

noun

plural

tributaries

1. a stream that flows to a larger stream or other body of water.

2. a person or nation that pays tribute in acknowledgment of subjugation or the like.

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adjective

1. (of a stream) flowing into a larger stream or other body of water.

2. furnishing subsidiary aid; contributory.

3. paying or required to pay tribute.

4. paid as tribute.

5. subject; subordinate.

   a tributary nation.

tributary British  

/ -trɪ, ˈtrɪbjʊtərɪ /

noun

1. a stream, river, or glacier that feeds another larger one

2. a person, nation, or people that pays tribute

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adjective

1. (of a stream, etc) feeding a larger stream

2. given or owed as a tribute

3. paying tribute

tributary Scientific  

/ trĭb′yə-tĕr′ē /

1. A stream that flows into a river, a larger stream, or a lake.

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Other Word Forms

• nontributary adjective
• tributarily adverb
• untributarily adverb
• untributary adjective

Etymology

Origin of tributary

1325–75; Middle English (adj. and noun) < Latin tribūtārius of tribute, one who pays tribute. See tribute, -ary

Example Sentences

He then founded the Tisza party, named after a tributary of the Danube.

From BBC • Apr. 3, 2026

The tributary of the Potomac River cutting across the land was called Tiber Creek after the river that flowed through the Eternal City.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 20, 2026

The Yamuna river, a major tributary of the Ganges, continues to suffer from severe pollution despite repeated clean-up pledges.

From Barron's • Oct. 27, 2025

More than a mile long and 145m high, the dam is on the Blue Nile tributary in the northern Ethiopia highlands, from where 85% of the Nile's waters flow.

From BBC • Jul. 3, 2025

Several hundred years later it reached the upper Xingu, a long Amazon tributary with its headwaters deep in southern Brazil.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann