tributary Hear it!

tributary Definition

tribu·tary (trib′yo̵̅o̅ ter′ē, -yə-)

adjective

  1. paying tribute
  2. under another's control; subject a tributary nation
  3. in the nature of tribute; owed or paid as tribute
    1. making additions or furnishing supplies; contributory
    2. flowing into a larger one a tributary stream

Etymology: ME tributarie < L tributarius

noun pl. -·tar′·ies

  1. a tributary nation or ruler
  2. a tributary stream or river

tributary Related Forms

trib′u·tar′i·ly adverb

tributary Synonyms

tributary

modif.

subordinate, subject, minor, accessory, small, supplementary, auxiliary, adjoining, affluent, subsidiary; see also secondary 1.

Antonyms principal*, main*, leading.

tributary Synonyms

tributary

n.

stream, river, branch, feeder, anabranch, affluent, sidestream, offshoot.

tributary Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • cross: Keep the brook to your right and cross several tributaries coming from your left.
  • become: All ultimately become major tributaries of the Ganges in northern India.
  • include: The British sector included a tributary of the River Somme, the Ancre.
  • follow: The path crosses the river and follows the smaller tributary upstream for a couple of klicks.

Converse of subject

join: Some of the World's longest rivers are joined by tributaries that themselves are major rivers.

Adjective modifier

  • ever-fresh: Quote of the Day A powerful and ever-fresh tributary of the great stream of poetry in English.
  • navigable: Another pub, the Black Horse, then the River Lark, our third navigable tributary in the 12 miles from Denver.
  • minor: The name was probably first applied to the valley of the Skell, a very minor tributary of the Don.
  • northern: Darlington began as an Anglo-Saxon settlement on the River Skerne which is a northern tributary of the Tees.
  • main: I knew at one time all the main tributaries of the Thames.
  • numerous: Due to its size and numerous tributaries, the Blackwater maintains a steady height of water, making fishing possible even in dry conditions.

Modifies a noun

  • valley: Here the width of the tributary valley forces the main channel to divert from the main valley side.
  • stream: About 10 km behind the front, a tributary ice stream joins.
  • river: Fry raised in the hatchery have been planted into the tributary rivers flowing into Loch Shin for several decades.
  • mode: The tributary mode emerges most directly from the Asiatic mode.
  • flow: The river and its tributaries flow through the second largest rain forest area in the world.

Noun used with modifier

river: Habitat: This fish occurs in a massive variety of habitats, from mountain streams to brackish river tributaries.

Possessives

river: Take a dawn boat ride on one of the river's many small tributaries.

Preposition: of

  • river: The River Glen is a tributary of the River Till which in turn is the only English tributary of the Scottish River Tweed.
  • stream: Quote of the Day A powerful and ever-fresh tributary of the great stream of poetry in English.