headwater

noun

head·​wa·​ter ˈhed-ˌwȯ-tər 

-ˌwä-

: the source of a stream

—usually used in plural

Synonyms

• head
• headstream
• source

Examples of headwater in a Sentence

the first exploration of the Missouri River from its mouth to its headwaters was made by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark in the early 1800s

Recent Examples on the Web

Its main stem flows 2,350 miles from the headwaters at Lake Itasca in Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico, touching 10 states and spreading out into many more with its tributaries. —Amy Graff, New York Times, 3 May 2025

Tree roots and fungi guide rainwater down to the water tables and create the headwaters for the rivers. —Suwanna Gauntlett Upjohn, Forbes.com, 17 Apr. 2025

Gauley River: Threatened by toxic pollution from strip mining for coal in the headwaters. —Doyle Rice, USA Today, 17 Apr. 2025

Yet, this same remarkable watershed faces a grave threat: toxic pollution from coal strip mining in the headwaters of the Cherry River, one of the Gauley's primary tributaries. —Li Cohen, CBS News, 15 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1612, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for headwater

• backwater
• bathwater
• blackwater
• breakwater
• deepwater
• edgewater
• feedwater
• floodwater
• freshwater
• granddaughter
• groundwater
• manslaughter

Kids Definition

headwater

noun

head·​wa·​ter -ˌwȯt-ər 

-ˌwät-

: the beginning and upper part of a stream

—usually used in plural