tributary

[trib-yuh-ter-ee]

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.

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

/ -trɪ, ˈtrɪbjʊtərɪ /

noun

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

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

adjective

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

2. given or owed as a tribute

3. paying tribute

tributary

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

Other Word Forms

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of tributary¹

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

Example Sentences

The dam's construction on a Nile tributary, which provides most of that great river's water, was controversial with downstream countries.

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Enforced by police, the ban carries potential prison time for those caught fishing right along the Yangtze, as well as adjacent lakes and tributaries.

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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.

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Members of the tribe say they are celebrating the return of their ancestral lands along Blue Creek, a major tributary that meets the Klamath about 40 miles south of the Oregon border.

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White water rafting, kayaking and canoeing: The Trinity River, a 203-mile tributary of the Klamath River, starts in the Trinity Alps and features calm waters and multiple classes of white water.

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