Meaning & use
headwater
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Meanings
nounusually plural
A stream or small river near the beginning of a larger river, high up in the hills or mountains.
Grammar: Often headwaters: the headwaters of the river; the singular is used for one source stream.
Patterns
- the headwaters of something
- at the headwater
The hikers followed a small headwater up into the mountains.
Pollution at the headwaters can affect the whole river downstream.
Scientists traced the headwater of the river to a spring in the forest.
nounusually plural
The upper part of a river system, including all the streams that feed it near its start.
Grammar: Usually plural and followed by of: the headwaters of the Nile.
Patterns
- the headwaters of something
The headwaters of the river are protected as a national park.
Fishing is banned in the headwaters during spawning season.
Snowmelt keeps the headwaters cold even in summer.
Word forms
| plural | headwaters |
|---|
Common combinations
- the headwaters of
- The headwaters of the Mississippi lie in a small lake in Minnesota.
- protect the headwaters
- The government acted to protect the headwaters from logging.
- upper headwaters
- The upper headwaters are fast and clear.
- trace to its headwaters
- Explorers tried to trace the river to its headwaters.
- headwater stream
- A headwater stream feeds the larger river below.
Synonyms and how they differ
- source
- Source is the exact point where a river starts, while headwaters covers the whole upper area of streams.
- upper reaches
- Upper reaches describes the whole upstream part of a river, with less focus on the streams that feed it.
- fountainhead
- Fountainhead is more literary and often means the origin of an idea rather than a river.
Opposites
Word family
- headwaters noun
- the upper streams of a river
- watershed noun
- the area of land that drains into a river
- headstream noun
- a stream that is a source of a river
Commonly confused: headwater or headwaters?
headwater vs headwaters
Learners sometimes treat headwater and headwaters as different words, but they are the same noun, and the plural form is more usual for the whole upper area.
Practice
The river's ___ are found high in the mountains, where the streams begin.
Choose one answer.
Headwaters are the upper streams where a river begins. The delta, estuary and mouth are at the river's end, near the sea.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “headwater”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.