as in tributary
a stream that flows into a larger body of water
the lake has several feeders that have their headwaters near the Canadian border
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Recent Examples of feeder
Long, shallow, feeder roots can suffer from fertilizer burn, which results in weak growth and dieback.
—
Barbara Gillette, The Spruce, 18 Feb. 2026
With conference bottom feeders like Pitt, Boston College and Notre Dame still to come, SMU could rack up wins and build up some momentum before a critical ACC tournament.
—Lia Assimakopoulos, Dallas Morning News, 10 Feb. 2026
Putting feeders out early provides food sources for some of those early migrants.
—Rae Ford, Martha Stewart, 10 Feb. 2026
With no lifts spinning at this ungodly hour, Ski Utah had permission to drive a van up a Brian Head service road to the top of a short feeder run called Blackfoot Access.
—Tim Neville, Travel + Leisure, 27 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for feeder
Barbara Gillette, The Spruce, 18 Feb. 2026
With conference bottom feeders like Pitt, Boston College and Notre Dame still to come, SMU could rack up wins and build up some momentum before a critical ACC tournament.
—Lia Assimakopoulos, Dallas Morning News, 10 Feb. 2026
Putting feeders out early provides food sources for some of those early migrants.
—Rae Ford, Martha Stewart, 10 Feb. 2026
With no lifts spinning at this ungodly hour, Ski Utah had permission to drive a van up a Brian Head service road to the top of a short feeder run called Blackfoot Access.
—Tim Neville, Travel + Leisure, 27 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for feeder
Recent Examples of Synonyms for feeder
tributary
Noun
-
Upper Basin States—Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming—contain headwater tributaries and receive much of their water resources through snowmelt and runoff that drain above Lee’s Ferry.—
Outside,
Outside,
3 Mar. 2026
-
Multiple agencies are working to contain a fuel spill in a tributary that feeds the Woodbury Creek after a utility truck crashed on Route 295 in West Deptford, New Jersey, Wednesday morning.—
Alexandra Simon,
CBS News,
25 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Feeder.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/feeder. Accessed 11 Mar. 2026.
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