Synonyms of tributaries

tributaries

noun

plural of tributary

as in headwaters

a stream that flows into a larger body of water

the Amazon and its more than 1,000 known tributaries form the world's largest drainage basin

Synonyms & Similar Words

• headwaters
• branches
• bayous
• affluents
• feeders
• sources
• influents
• creeks
• backwaters
• rivulets
• confluents
• streamlets
• brooks
• rills
• runs
• headstreams
• brooklets
• fountainheads
• heads

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• effluents
• distributaries

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of tributaries

Presidio is protected by a series of berms and levees built in the 1970s and 1980s along the Rio Grande and tributaries to combat flooding. — Rebecca Santana, Los Angeles Times, 4 Aug. 2026

Chesapeake Bay tributaries are important spawning areas, producing between 70% and 90% of the coastwide population of striped bass. — Ken Perrotte, USA Today, 4 Aug. 2026

Environmental groups sent a letter threatening to file suit against Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport for spills of fuel, sewage and other substances into the Flint River and its tributaries over a period of years. — Kelly Yamanouchi, AJC.com, 30 July 2026

The fun part was reaching every pole in every neighborhood in a town crisscrossed by tributaries of the Albany River. — IEEE Spectrum, 30 July 2026

Namami Gange has added substantial sewage-treatment capacity and supported riverfront, afforestation, and biodiversity projects, but untreated sewage and industrial waste continue to affect the Ganges and its tributaries. — Aman Kumar, Encyclopedia Britannica, 24 July 2026

The town is worried about the effect the wall would have on a series of berms and levees built in the 1970s and 1980s along the Rio Grande and tributaries to combat flooding. — ABC News, 22 July 2026

Surrounding the Grass River and its tributaries, the nature preserve is home to almost 150 species of birds and as well as many species of fish, reptiles, and amphibians. — Kristin Hagenson, Midwest Living, 22 July 2026

By summer 1951, unusually heavy rainfall had overwhelmed existing and newly built flood-control structures along the Kansas, Marais des Cygnes, and Neosho rivers and their tributaries. — Michelle Oliva-Espinosa, Kansas City Star, 18 July 2026