Meaning & use
tributary
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Meanings
nouncountable
A stream or smaller river that flows into a larger river, lake, or other body of water.
Grammar: Countable; use a tributary or tributaries, often with of: a tributary of the Nile.
Patterns
- a tributary of something
- a major tributary
- feed into a tributary
The Missouri River is a major tributary of the Mississippi.
A small tributary runs behind the old mill before joining the lake.
adjectivebefore a nounformal
Describing a state or ruler that pays tribute to a more powerful state or ruler.
Grammar: Only used before a noun in historical contexts, as in a tributary kingdom.
Patterns
- a tributary state
- a tributary kingdom
- tributary rulers
The map shows a tributary state sending annual payments to the empire.
A tributary king kept local power but owed loyalty to a distant emperor.
Word forms
| plural | tributaries |
|---|
Common combinations
- a major tributary
- The researchers measured flooding along a major tributary.
- tributary of the Amazon
- A tributary of the Amazon may look small but carry enormous water volume.
- tributary state
- Historians described the border region as a tributary state of the empire.
Synonyms and how they differ
- feeder
- Feeder is common for a stream or river branch that supplies a larger one; tributary is more formal and geographic.
- branch
- Branch can mean a smaller flow splitting off or joining, but tributary specifically flows into the larger water body.
- affluent
- Affluent is a technical term for a tributary in hydrology, but learners may mistake it for the adjective meaning wealthy.
Opposites
Word family
- tribute noun
- A payment or sign of respect owed to a powerful person or state.
Commonly confused: tributary or tribute?
tributary vs tribute
A tributary is a river flowing into another, or historically a paying state; tribute is the payment or praise itself.
Practice
The creek is a small ___ of the Ohio River.
Choose one answer.
A creek that flows into a larger river is a tributary. Tribute means payment or respect; trivia means unimportant facts.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “tributary”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.