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
Enjoy hiking trails with scenic overlooks and opportunities for paddling ⛵ and fishing near the river’s headwaters.
—
Melissa Oyler, Charlotte Observer, 5 Sep. 2025
Ashia Wilson, a member of the Klamath Tribes who lives at the river’s headwaters, said that the week before the paddlers reached the mouth Upper Klamath Lake, the home to the endemic c’waam and koptu fish, is now too toxic to touch.
—Debra Utacia Krol, USA Today, 2 Sep. 2025
The heaviest rain is expected to occur across the headwaters of Peters Creek and Cache Creek.
—Anna Skinner, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Sep. 2025
The 2025 runoff season in the Rocky Mountains, the Colorado's headwaters, is shaping up to be the seventh-driest since 1963, when the government built Glen Canyon Dam and formed Lake Powell.
—Austin Corona, AZCentral.com, 15 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for headwater
Melissa Oyler, Charlotte Observer, 5 Sep. 2025
Ashia Wilson, a member of the Klamath Tribes who lives at the river’s headwaters, said that the week before the paddlers reached the mouth Upper Klamath Lake, the home to the endemic c’waam and koptu fish, is now too toxic to touch.
—Debra Utacia Krol, USA Today, 2 Sep. 2025
The heaviest rain is expected to occur across the headwaters of Peters Creek and Cache Creek.
—Anna Skinner, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Sep. 2025
The 2025 runoff season in the Rocky Mountains, the Colorado's headwaters, is shaping up to be the seventh-driest since 1963, when the government built Glen Canyon Dam and formed Lake Powell.
—Austin Corona, AZCentral.com, 15 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for headwater
Recent Examples of Synonyms for headwater
Noun
-
Of the more than five thousand tributaries that empty into the Great Lakes, about one in ten is infested with lampreys.—
Katie Thornton,
New Yorker,
24 Oct. 2025
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These ancient, natural waterways are former tributaries of the Rio Grande left behind hundreds to thousands of years ago when the river shifted its course.—
Gabi De la Rosa,
Southern Living,
15 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
As various ancient sources recount, after Achilles is killed by Paris, the Greeks resort to deception.—
Elizabeth D. Samet,
Foreign Affairs,
29 Oct. 2025
-
In the midst of tragedy came a small offering of knowledge from an unsuspecting source.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Headwater.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/headwater. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.
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