distributary

[ dih-strib-yoo-ter-ee ]

noun

, plural dis·trib·u·tar·ies.

1. an outflowing branch of a stream or river, typically found in a delta ( tributary ).

distributary

/ -trɪ; dɪˈstrɪbjʊtərɪ /

noun

1. one of several outlet streams draining a river, esp on a delta

distributary

/ dĭ-strĭb′yə-tĕr′ē /

1. A branch of a river that flows away from the main stream.
2. One of the channels in a braided stream.

Word History and Origins

Origin of distributary¹

First recorded in 1535–45; distribute + -ary

Example Sentences

The meander took the Mississippi so far west that it ran into the Atchafalaya, at that time a distributary of a different river, the Red, which itself was a Mississippi tributary.

From The New Yorker

And at the center of the struggle is the Atchafalaya river, a 135 mile-long distributary of the Mississippi River that empties into the Gulf of Mexico.

From The Guardian

The course of history is full of confluences and meanders, oxbows, watersheds, dams and floods, tributaries and distributaries.

From The Guardian

Every 1,000 years or so, it abandoned its main channel for one of its distributaries.

From Economist

Saline water has long been invading the delta, but because of the drought there is not enough fresh water in the river and its distributaries to dilute the seawater.

From New York Times