as in tributary
usually headwaters plural
the beginning part of a stream
the first exploration of the Missouri River from its mouth to its headwaters was made by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark in the early 1800s
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of headwater
The Colorado River Headwaters basin fell from 96% to 66%, and the Upper Arkansas headwaters fell from 91% to 59%.
—
John Meyer, Denver Post, 8 May 2025
The Kissimmee was the headwater to that entire process.
—Bill Kearney, Sun Sentinel, 29 June 2025
Shingle Creek is the headwaters of the Everglades — an ecosystem that needs to be protected, right next to International Drive.
—Letters To The Editor, The Orlando Sentinel, 1 June 2025
The first Chinook salmon was seen moving up past where the Iron Gate dam had stood within a few weeks of that dam coming down, after a century of anadromous fish unable to migrate past that point up to the headwaters.
—Erik Pedersen, Oc Register, 30 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for headwater
John Meyer, Denver Post, 8 May 2025
The Kissimmee was the headwater to that entire process.
—Bill Kearney, Sun Sentinel, 29 June 2025
Shingle Creek is the headwaters of the Everglades — an ecosystem that needs to be protected, right next to International Drive.
—Letters To The Editor, The Orlando Sentinel, 1 June 2025
The first Chinook salmon was seen moving up past where the Iron Gate dam had stood within a few weeks of that dam coming down, after a century of anadromous fish unable to migrate past that point up to the headwaters.
—Erik Pedersen, Oc Register, 30 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for headwater
Recent Examples of Synonyms for headwater
Noun
-
Venues of all sizes along the Guadalupe and its tributaries were flooded, with some, such as Lone Star Floathouse in New Braunfels, sustaining heavy damage.—
Josh Crutchmer,
Rolling Stone,
9 July 2025
-
Experts say threats to water have an outsize impact in Pakistan because so much of its agriculture is supported by the Indus and its tributaries.—
Betsy Joles,
NPR,
8 July 2025
Noun
-
This shift reframes resilience as a source of growth and stability.—
Felicia Jackson,
Forbes.com,
14 July 2025
-
Indeed, the former official said, Israel had largely given up trying to cultivate human sources inside Hamas and Hezbollah.—
Dexter Filkins,
New Yorker,
14 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Headwater.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/headwater. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.
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