Meaning & use
aqueduct
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Meanings
nouncountable
A man-made channel, often raised on arches, that carries water from a distant source to a town or farmland.
Grammar: Has a plural: Roman aqueducts.
Patterns
- an aqueduct to somewhere
- an aqueduct across something
The Romans built an aqueduct to bring fresh water into the city.
The tourists walked beneath the arches of the ancient aqueduct.
A new aqueduct now supplies the desert town.
nouncountable
A bridge that carries a canal or river over a road, valley or other waterway.
Grammar: Often used in the UK for canal bridges.
Patterns
- an aqueduct over something
The narrowboat crossed the valley on a stone aqueduct.
The canal passes over the river via a famous aqueduct.
Visitors can cross the aqueduct on foot.
Word forms
| plural | aqueducts |
|---|
Common combinations
- a Roman aqueduct
- A Roman aqueduct still stands near the village.
- build an aqueduct
- Engineers built an aqueduct to irrigate the dry farmland.
- underground aqueduct
- Los Angeles gets water through a long underground aqueduct.
- aqueduct system
- The city's aqueduct system carries water from mountain reservoirs.
- cross an aqueduct
- The narrowboat slowly crossed the aqueduct.
Synonyms and how they differ
- channel
- Channel is a general word for any passage for water, while aqueduct is a large constructed system, often for supplying a town.
- conduit
- Conduit is a pipe or channel of any size, including for wires, and is less associated with big bridges.
- canal
- A canal is an open waterway for boats or irrigation, whereas an aqueduct is mainly for carrying water, sometimes over obstacles.
- viaduct
- A viaduct carries a road or railway over a valley, not water.
Word family
Commonly confused: aqueduct or viaduct?
aqueduct vs viaduct
A viaduct is a long bridge for road or rail traffic, while an aqueduct carries water.
Practice
What did Roman engineers build to move fresh water over long distances into cities?
Choose one answer.
An aqueduct carries water to a city. A viaduct carries a road or railway, a reservoir only stores water, and a lighthouse is a coastal tower.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “aqueduct”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.