watercourse

[waw-ter-kawrs, -kohrs, wot-er-]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR watercourse ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a stream of water, as a river or brook.

the bed of a stream that flows only seasonally.

a natural channel conveying water.

a channel or canal made for the conveyance of water.

Origin of watercourse

First recorded in 1500–10; water + course

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for watercourse

gully, creek, stream, sluice, canal, estuary, aqueduct, brook, channel, flume, conduit, gutter, culvert, inlet, chute, drain, gullet, trench, ravine, river

Examples from the Web for watercourse

Historical Examples of watercourse

The banks of the watercourse were steep, the bottom was sandy.
Journal of an Expedition into the Interior of Tropical Australia
Thomas Mitchell
Away from the watercourse the grasses grew shorter and more slender.
"Wee Tim'rous Beasties"
Douglas English
He tore towards the watercourse in an agony lest he should be too late.
The Call of the Blood
Robert Smythe Hichens
So far, however, the lads had remained on their side of the watercourse.
The Rover Boys at Big Horn Ranch
Edward Stratemeyer
I fired and stepped back, falling, as I did so, into the watercourse.
Adventures in Many Lands
Various

British Dictionary definitions for watercourse

watercourse

noun

a stream, river, or canal

the channel, bed, or route along which this flows

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