headwater

noun

head·​wa·​ter ˈhed-ˌwȯ-tər 

-ˌwä-

: the source of a stream

—usually used in plural

Synonyms

• head
• headstream
• source

Examples of headwater in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples on the Web

Over the course of three days, more than 30 inches of rain had fallen in Busick, 7 miles away near the South Toe’s headwaters. —Usa Today Graphics Team, USA TODAY, 31 Dec. 2024

Through a series of 31 interactive exhibits, visitors journey down the Fraser River to the headwaters of the Upper Colorado River Basin, where water is diverted across the Continental Divide into metro Denver. —Gigi Ragland, The Denver Post, 14 Jan. 2025

Instead of reducing releases from the big reservoirs that the Lower Basin uses, the Upper Basin has to cut back according to what’s flowing down headwater streams. —Brandon Loomis, The Arizona Republic, 6 Dec. 2024

Hard-rock mining has contaminated at least 40 percent of headwaters in the western U.S.. —Ashley C. Nunes, Scientific American, 13 Aug. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1612, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for headwater

• backwater
• bathwater
• blackwater
• breakwater
• deepwater
• edgewater
• feedwater
• floodwater
• freshwater
• granddaughter
• groundwater
• manslaughter

Kids Definition

headwater

noun

head·​wa·​ter -ˌwȯt-ər 

-ˌwät-

: the beginning and upper part of a stream

—usually used in plural