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 …

TRIBUTARY definition: a stream that flows to a larger stream or other body of water. See examples of tributary used in a sentence.

Definition of 'tributary' tributary (trɪbjʊtəri , US -teri ) Word forms: tributaries

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 …

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

A tributary is a freshwater stream that feeds into a larger stream, river or other body of water. The larger, or parent, river is called the mainstem.

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

Aug 27, 2025 · A tributary is precisely defined as a stream or river that converges with and flows into a larger stream, river, or a lake. A key characteristic is that a tributary does not flow …