ef·flu·ent
| \ ˈe-ˌflü-ənt
; e-ˈflü-, ə- \
; e-ˈflü-, ə- \
effluent
nounDefinition of effluent (Entry 2 of 2)
: something that flows out: such as
a
: an outflowing branch of a main stream or lake
b
: waste material (such as smoke, liquid industrial refuse, or sewage) discharged into the environment especially when serving as a pollutant
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Examples of effluent in a Sentence
Noun
The factory has been accused of discharging effluent into the river.
Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective
Just like wastewater from cattle or poultry farms, effluent from fish farms can be a serious pollution source.
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Pallab Sarker, The Conversation, "Taking fish out of fish feed can make aquaculture a more sustainable food source," 14 Dec. 2020
On a small scale, effluent from individual buildings — college dorms, prisons, nursing homes and homeless shelters — is increasingly being surveilled for coronavirus.
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Kim Tingley, New York Times, "Watching What Goes Down Our Toilets Could Help Keep a Pandemic From Spiraling Out of Control," 24 Nov. 2020
The wastewater disperses nearly 33 days later as highly treated effluent into marsh, through the legs of wood storks and roseate spoonbills and then to an expanse of cordgrass and sable palms of the St. Johns River.
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Kevin Spear, orlandosentinel.com, "Orlando’s secret life of sewers: What workers hope you never know," 18 Nov. 2020
The researchers also collected effluent from two wastewater treatment plants, which filter out some, but not all, microfibers before pumping the water into Lake Ontario.
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Matt Simon, Wired, "Your Beloved Blue Jeans Are Polluting the Ocean—Big Time," 2 Sep. 2020
Bees feeding on effluent streams from an M&M candy factory were producing honey that was green, red, and blue.
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Benjamin R. Cohen, Wired, "Your Food Isn’t ‘Natural’ and It Never Will Be," 8 Oct. 2020
Plumes from effluent pipes greased the river that ran through our town.
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Kerri Arsenault, The New York Review of Books, "My Eighty-Six Jobs," 1 Sep. 2020
But that facility can’t filter out all of the fibers, which flow out to sea as effluent.
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Matt Simon, Wired, "Wait, How Much Microplastic Is Swirling in the Atlantic?," 18 Aug. 2020
In violation of Kenyan environmental and human rights law, the factory's smelting process would emit fumes, dust, and effluent laden with lead particles, according to a 2015 report by the Ministry of Health.
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Deborah Bloom, CNN, "The woman risking her life to save a village from lead poisoning," 20 Apr. 2018
Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
But a lot is riding on Mexico following through with plans to improve its sewage system and complete a water-recycling project that would clean up tainted effluent so it can be used to irrigate vineyards in the Guadalupe Valley.
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Michael Smolens Columnist, San Diego Union-Tribune, "Column: Mexico’s effort will be key in reducing sewage spills; U.S. can’t do it alone," 19 Feb. 2021
Fish effluent is transformed into a nutrient for plants, then recycled back into the fish tank.
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Los Angeles Times, "Growing food without dirt? Yes, you should try it at home," 21 Jan. 2021
Industry arrived in force to its shores at the turn of the twentieth century, adding chemical dumping on top of the human effluent, with the Brooklyn Yard Dye Company and the Brooklyn Union Gas Company among the worst offenders.
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Caroline Spivack, Curbed, "A Coney Island Baptism Spot Might Be Declared a Superfund Site," 4 Jan. 2021
Nitrogen comes from municipal and industrial wastewater effluent, failed or failing septic fields, animal waste, fertilizers and vehicular exhausts.
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Suzanne Baker, chicagotribune.com, "Banning some types of fertilizers and sealants will improve Naperville-area rivers, streams: Sierra Club," 24 Dec. 2020
The photos depict nature, mostly in the form of aquatic birds, accommodating itself to AlexRenew’s water-treatment lagoons and the outfall pipes where effluent can enter the river.
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Washington Post, "In the galleries: Up to his elbows in watery works and lustrous prints," 18 Dec. 2020
Rather, the wealthier a neighborhood, the less virus in its effluent.
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Kim Tingley, New York Times, "Watching What Goes Down Our Toilets Could Help Keep a Pandemic From Spiraling Out of Control," 24 Nov. 2020
The effluent is cleaner than its final destination, the St. Johns River.
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Kevin Spear, orlandosentinel.com, "Orlando’s secret life of sewers: What workers hope you never know," 18 Nov. 2020
Some of that fertilizer, along with effluent from cows and other animals, seeps into the rivers.
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Tracy Withers, Bloomberg.com, "Not-So-Green New Zealand Has a Dirty River Problem," 11 Oct. 2020
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'effluent.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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“Effluent.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/effluent. Accessed 8 Mar. 2021.
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The first known use of effluent was in 1726
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