tributary

[ trib-yuh-ter-ee ]

/ ˈtrɪb yəˌtɛr i /

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See synonyms for: tributary / tributaries on Thesaurus.com

noun, plural trib·u·tar·ies.

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

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

adjective

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

furnishing subsidiary aid; contributory.

paying or required to pay tribute.

paid as tribute.

subject; subordinate: a tributary nation.

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Origin of tributary

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

OTHER WORDS FROM tributary

trib·u·tar·i·ly, adverbnon·trib·u·tar·y, adjectiveun·trib·u·tar·i·ly, adverbun·trib·u·tar·y, adjective

Words nearby tributary

tribulation, tribunal, tribunate, tribune, Tribune Group, tributary, tribute, tribute band, tricalcium silicate, tricameral, tricarboxylic

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use tributary in a sentence

That figure suggests how much rain may have fallen elsewhere over the 11,560 square miles of field and forest and city and town that drain into the tributaries that empty into the Potomac before it arrives at Little Falls.
Our second-coldest day of 2020 came on Saturday|Martin Weil|December 27, 2020|Washington Post
As we learn more about the mysterious tributaries activated in reading, perhaps there are more teaching strategies to be discovered, helping those who do not find it a natural activity, or for those around the world who miss out on early education.
Reading, That Strange and Uniquely Human Thing - Issue 94: Evolving|Lydia Wilson|December 23, 2020|Nautilus
Twomey says that dyslexic readers, in their struggle to learn to read, are calling on more of the tributaries in the brain to overcome their difficulties of whichever script they are being taught.
Reading, That Strange and Uniquely Human Thing - Issue 94: Evolving|Lydia Wilson|December 23, 2020|Nautilus
A four-acre sinkhole there had opened at the plant’s coal ash pond years earlier, releasing over 2 million gallons of arsenic-laced ash and water into a tributary of the Etowah River.
A Power Company’s Quiet Land-Buying Spree Could Shield It From Coal Ash Cleanup Costs|by Max Blau for Georgia Health News|November 24, 2020|ProPublica

From Rig to Flip and American Rivers, Rio Rica introduces us to Rica Fulton and the Little Snake River, a lesser known tributary of the West’s renowned Yampa River.
Exploring the Little Snake River|Outside Editors|October 5, 2020|Outside Online
The first pioneer to reach the riparian tributary where Kansas City now shimmers was, in fact, on the lam himself.
Those Kansas City Blues: A Family History|Katie Baker|October 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The village sits along a narrowing vein of the Rio Negro, a tributary of the mighty Amazon.
Bye Bye Latté, Hello Guayusa: Why The Amazon Holds the Secret to a Cleaner, Healthier Caffeine|Brandon Presser|August 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But I had to find my way into another passion, and with the art, it was a river flowing into a tributary.
Painting for Pleasure|Rachel Syme|May 6, 2010|DAILY BEAST
Those in the middle have arisen from the union of the moraines formed in two or more tributary valleys.
Outlines of the Earth's History|Nathaniel Southgate Shaler
From there we proceeded up the Gury, a large tributary stream flowing into the Ganges below Rumpurbolea.
A Woman's Journey Round the World|Ida Pfeiffer
He gestured with his arm to the valley below where a cool stream of water dashed over rocks on its way to join a bigger tributary.
The Adventure Girls at K Bar O|Clair Blank
At various points tributary gorges, the graves of fluvial gods who had perished long ago, opened into the main cañon.
Overland|John William De Forest
This fish (but seldom taken any great weight) abounds in the Tees and its tributary streams.
The Teesdale Angler|R Lakeland

British Dictionary definitions for tributary

tributary

/ (ˈtrɪbjʊtərɪ, -trɪ) /

noun plural -taries

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

a person, nation, or people that pays tribute

adjective

(of a stream, etc) feeding a larger stream

given or owed as a tribute

paying tribute

Derived forms of tributary

tributarily, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012