sewage

noun

sew·​age ˈsü-ij How to pronounce sewage (audio)
: refuse liquids or waste matter usually carried off by sewers

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web Marin County and Sewer Authority Mid-Coastside, the sewage district that includes the city of Half Moon Bay, started testing samples of their community effluent for signs of the drugs in February and November, respectively. Catherine Ho, San Francisco Chronicle, 17 Mar. 2023 In 2020, a 37-year-old man at the jail filed a federal lawsuit alleging that detainees were confined to their cells after raw sewage leaked into the cellblock. Cassidy Jensen, Baltimore Sun, 16 Mar. 2023 Untreated sewage in the water in those areas can cause illnesses. Phil Diehl, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Mar. 2023 For decades, environmentalists campaigned to daylight the brook, which adds 2.2 billion gallons of freshwater into outdated pipes that carry combined sewage and stormwater to treatment plants. Jim Morrison, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 Mar. 2023 Here, a silvery machine resembling a giant food processor the size of a small fridge collects people’s waste, intercepting the sewage outflow. Lina Zeldovich, Popular Science, 14 Mar. 2023 Major utilities including a sewage and water irrigation pipe run through the levee and are threatened by the erosion. Susanne Rust, Los Angeles Times, 14 Mar. 2023 Bad News Ocean spray can contaminate coastal communities with E. coli, norovirus, and salmonella, thanks to the sewage routinely dumped into waterways, a new study from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography finds. Heather Souvaine Horn, The New Republic, 10 Mar. 2023 However, odors from the sewage are released outside during the flight. Sofia Quaglia, Discover Magazine, 8 Mar. 2023 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'sewage.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Word History

Etymology

sewer entry 3

First Known Use

1834, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of sewage was in 1834

Dictionary Entries Near sewage

Cite this Entry

“Sewage.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sewage. Accessed 29 Mar. 2023.

Kids Definition

sewage

noun
sew·​age ˈsü-ij How to pronounce sewage (audio)
: waste materials carried off by sewers

Medical Definition

sewage

noun
sew·​age ˈsü-ij How to pronounce sewage (audio)
: refuse liquids or waste matter carried off by sewers
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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