as in tributary
usually headwaters plural
the beginning part of a stream
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
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Recent Examples of headwater
After hatching in 2000, 1018 was brought to Florida and released alongside seven others in 2001 near headwaters to the Everglades.
—
Natalia Jaramillo, The Orlando Sentinel, 28 Mar. 2025
As bodies of water, rivers already have headwaters, mouths and arms.
—Valorie Castellanos Clark, Los Angeles Times, 15 May 2025
The utility’s leaders defend the project and say the utility has spent $30 million across dozens of projects to offset the environmental impacts of the reservoir expansion, including stream restoration on the headwaters of the Colorado River.
—Elise Schmelzer, Denver Post, 16 Apr. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for headwater
Natalia Jaramillo, The Orlando Sentinel, 28 Mar. 2025
As bodies of water, rivers already have headwaters, mouths and arms.
—Valorie Castellanos Clark, Los Angeles Times, 15 May 2025
The utility’s leaders defend the project and say the utility has spent $30 million across dozens of projects to offset the environmental impacts of the reservoir expansion, including stream restoration on the headwaters of the Colorado River.
—Elise Schmelzer, Denver Post, 16 Apr. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for headwater
Recent Examples of Synonyms for headwater
Noun
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Unlike flooding, other techniques (for example drip irrigation) do not cause water to overflow the field and runoff into a tributary, where the nutrient pollution enters the wider aqueous ecosystem.—
Suwanna Gauntlett Upjohn,
Forbes.com,
25 June 2025
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White water rafting, kayaking and canoeing: The Trinity River, a 203-mile tributary of the Klamath River, starts in the Trinity Alps and features calm waters and multiple classes of white water.—
Jaclyn Cosgrove,
Los Angeles Times,
10 June 2025
Noun
-
Effective personalization doesn’t have to stretch every data source to its limit.—
Shiva Chandrashekher,
Forbes.com,
1 July 2025
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The Charlotte Hornets agreed to a one-year, $3.6 million deal with Plumlee, league sources confirmed to The Observer on Monday.—
Roderick Boone,
Charlotte Observer,
1 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Headwater.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/headwater. Accessed 10 Jul. 2025.
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