as in headwater
a stream that flows into a larger body of water
the Amazon and its more than 1,000 known tributaries form the world's largest drainage basin
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in subordinate
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of tributary
Catherine Porter, New York Times, 6 June 2023
This was a tributary version of the break-up and floe of ice that historically has happened in all the Great Lakes.
—Andrew McKean, Outdoor Life, 27 Mar. 2023
Josh Crutchmer, Rolling Stone, 9 July 2025
Experts say threats to water have an outsize impact in Pakistan because so much of its agriculture is supported by the Indus and its tributaries.
—Betsy Joles, NPR, 8 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for tributary
Noun
The edges of the country roads are decorated by tributary statues and banners flashing the faces of Allied soldiers who died in the fight.
—Catherine Porter, New York Times, 6 June 2023
This was a tributary version of the break-up and floe of ice that historically has happened in all the Great Lakes.
—Andrew McKean, Outdoor Life, 27 Mar. 2023
Adjective
Venues of all sizes along the Guadalupe and its tributaries were flooded, with some, such as Lone Star Floathouse in New Braunfels, sustaining heavy damage.
—Josh Crutchmer, Rolling Stone, 9 July 2025
Experts say threats to water have an outsize impact in Pakistan because so much of its agriculture is supported by the Indus and its tributaries.
—Betsy Joles, NPR, 8 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for tributary
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tributary
Noun
-
The headwaters originate near 151st Street and Antioch Road in Overland Park and flows east for 4 miles through Leawood, ending at the Blue River in Missouri.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
21 July 2025
-
Recovery efforts continue, with more than 1,000 local, state, and federal personnel – alongside thousands of volunteers from across the country – combing the area on foot from the river’s headwaters to Canyon Lake.—
Stephen Sorace,
FOXNews.com,
20 July 2025
Adjective
-
These institutions provide checks and balances in a way that would almost seem to draw on American traditions of government — with the profound difference that all institutions in Iran are ultimately subordinate to just one power, Khamenei's.—
Steve Inskeep,
NPR,
25 June 2025
-
Columban monasteries remained free of the control of local bishops and were instead directly subordinate to the pope.—
Bernd Roeck
June 16,
Literary Hub,
16 June 2025
Noun
-
But when the branches become leggy, the shrub can take on the look of a gathering of droopy bobbleheads.—
Mary Marlowe Leverette,
Southern Living,
19 July 2025
-
Charles Lawler pleaded guilty to holding up the BMO Harris branch at 1795 S. Washington St. on Sept. 22, 2021, according to a U.S. Attorney’s Northern Illinois District Office new release.—
Naperville Sun,
Chicago Tribune,
19 July 2025
Noun
-
Pratt was stout, compact and level-eyed, with a raspy drawl bespeaking his childhood on the Louisiana bayou.—
Christopher Goffard,
Los Angeles Times,
28 June 2025
-
Before their call got disconnected, Stevie Richards, 42, told his wife of 15 years that the car was heading into a bayou.—
Kayla McCormick,
NBC news,
12 June 2025
Noun
-
This approach is all about hands in the dirt, herbs on the windowsill, and birds at the feeder.—
Lauren Thomann,
Better Homes & Gardens,
14 July 2025
-
Moderate feeders like carrots and okra require fertilizer before planting and again around mid-season, during flowering and fruiting.—
Karen Brewer Grossman,
Southern Living,
12 July 2025
Adjective
-
This signals that Reed is set up to be a complementary wide receiver as opposed to being an outside X receiver that could dominate that team's target share.—
Steve Bradshaw,
Forbes.com,
14 July 2025
-
The Princess of Wales, 43, and her daughter subtly coordinated their outfits in complementary shades.—
Stephanie Petit,
People.com,
13 July 2025
Noun
-
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
-
The senior bonus deduction, Watson points out, applies to any source of taxable income that a taxpayer who is 65 or older has and may not necessarily eliminate all tax on Social Security benefits.—
Susan Tompor,
Freep.com,
14 July 2025
Adjective
-
In his 1985 report, Popplewell cited the lack of fire extinguishers or clearly signposted evacuation routes as a contributory factor, along with the locked exit gates and no one knowing who was in overall control of the matchday operation.—
Richard Sutcliffe,
New York Times,
10 May 2025
-
The news comes in the wake of health officials announcing that Arakawa died at 65 from hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a rare condition that comes from contact with rodents, and Hackman subsequently died at 95 from heart disease, with Alzheimer's as a significant contributory factor.—
Wesley Stenzel,
EW.com,
16 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Tributary.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tributary. Accessed 30 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share