as in tributary
usually headwaters plural
the beginning part of a stream
the first exploration of the Missouri River from its mouth to its headwaters was made by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark in the early 1800s
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Recent Examples of headwater
Kerrville and west into the town of Hunt are the headwaters of the river.
—
July 7, CBS News, 7 July 2025
On Saturday, May 24, the Seward Fire Department was dispatched to a rescue in the Fourth of July Creek headwaters amid reports that a 61-year-old male was underneath a boulder, a news release shared on Facebook confirmed.
—Becca Longmire, People.com, 30 May 2025
The man was trapped May 24 in a boulder field in the headwaters of Fourth of July Creek in the Kenai Peninsula, officials said.
—Sara Schilling, Sacbee.com, 28 May 2025
The Amazon trip that starts in late November will explore the river’s headwaters in the Pacaya Samiria Reserve, a 5-million-acre wildlife sanctuary on the eastern flank of the Andes that is home to pink river dolphins, scarlet macaws, sloths, and monk saki monkeys.
—Eduardo Garcia, Travel + Leisure, 26 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for headwater
July 7, CBS News, 7 July 2025
On Saturday, May 24, the Seward Fire Department was dispatched to a rescue in the Fourth of July Creek headwaters amid reports that a 61-year-old male was underneath a boulder, a news release shared on Facebook confirmed.
—Becca Longmire, People.com, 30 May 2025
The man was trapped May 24 in a boulder field in the headwaters of Fourth of July Creek in the Kenai Peninsula, officials said.
—Sara Schilling, Sacbee.com, 28 May 2025
The Amazon trip that starts in late November will explore the river’s headwaters in the Pacaya Samiria Reserve, a 5-million-acre wildlife sanctuary on the eastern flank of the Andes that is home to pink river dolphins, scarlet macaws, sloths, and monk saki monkeys.
—Eduardo Garcia, Travel + Leisure, 26 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for headwater
Recent Examples of Synonyms for headwater
Noun
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Last month, the Army Corps published another notice of its plans to expand the project to a dozen additional sites this summer along the Connecticut River, its tributaries, and one lake and a pond.—
John Moritz,
Hartford Courant,
5 July 2025
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Furthermore, there are more than 7,500 miles of tributaries in Texas’ Colorado River Basin, spanning nearly 39,900 square miles, that feed the river.—
Stephanie Threinen,
Austin American Statesman,
2 July 2025
Noun
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This shift reframes resilience as a source of growth and stability.—
Felicia Jackson,
Forbes.com,
14 July 2025
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Indeed, the former official said, Israel had largely given up trying to cultivate human sources inside Hamas and Hezbollah.—
Dexter Filkins,
New Yorker,
14 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Headwater.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/headwater. Accessed 30 Jul. 2025.
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