A tributary can be a tiny stream, but some are immense rivers. The Missouri River, for example, could be called a tributary to the Mississippi, even though it's about 2,500 miles long and …

Add to word list a river or stream that flows into a larger river or lake: The Missouri River is a tributary of the Mississippi River (Definition of tributary from the Cambridge Academic Content …

A tributary is a branch that flows into the main stream, like the White River, the Arkansas River, the Yazoo River ,and the Red River — each a tributary of the mighty Mississippi.

A tributary, or an affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream (main stem or "parent"), river, or a lake. [1] A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. [2]

TRIBUTARY definition: a stream that flows to a larger stream or other body of water. See examples of tributary used in a sentence.

Definition of tributary noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. a river or stream that flows into a larger river or a lake. The Thames is fed by several small tributaries. Through …

1. Making additions or yielding supplies; contributory. 2. Paid in tribute. 3. Paying tribute: a tributary colony.

Definition of 'tributary' tributary (trɪbjʊtəri , US -teri ) Word forms: tributaries

Nov 1, 2025 · Yielding supplies of any kind; serving to form or make up, a greater object of the same kind, as a part, branch, etc.; contributing. The Ohio has many tributary streams, and is …

tributary, adj. & n. meanings, etymology, pronunciation and more in the Oxford English Dictionary