A tributary can be a tiny stream, but some are immense rivers. The Missouri River, for example, could be called a tributary to the Mississippi, even though it's about 2,500 miles long and …

A confluence, where two or more bodies of water meet, usually refers to the joining of tributaries. The opposite to a tributary is a distributary, a river or stream that branches off from and flows …

/ ˈtrɪb·jəˌter·i / Add to word list a river or stream that flows into a larger river or lake: The Missouri River is a tributary of the Mississippi River (Definition of tributary from the Cambridge …

The noun tributary is related to the word tribute and both come from the Latin word tributum, meaning “a thing contributed or paid.” Long ago, a tributary was someone who was forced to …

Definition of tributary noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. a river or stream that flows into a larger river or a lake. The Thames is fed by several small tributaries. Through …

TRIBUTARY meaning: a stream that flows into a larger stream or river or into a lake often used before another noun

1 day ago · A tributary is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream, a main river, or a lake, contributing its water to the larger body. These waterways are integral to a river system’s …

1. Making additions or yielding supplies; contributory. 2. Paid in tribute. 3. Paying tribute: a tributary colony.

Nov 1, 2025 · Yielding supplies of any kind; serving to form or make up, a greater object of the same kind, as a part, branch, etc.; contributing. The Ohio has many tributary streams, and is …

tributary, adj. & n. meanings, etymology, pronunciation and more in the Oxford English Dictionary