- (n.) A stream or river flowing into a larger river or into a lake; an affluent.
- (a.) Hence, subject; subordinate; inferior.
- (a.) Paid in tribute.
- (a.) Paying tribute to another, either from compulsion, as an acknowledgment of submission or to secure protection or for the purpose of purchasing peace.
- (n.) A ruler or state that pays tribute or a stated sum, to a conquering power, for the purpose of securing peace and protection or as an acknowledgment of submission or for the purchase of security.
- (a.) Yielding supplies of any kind; serving to form or make up, a greater object of the same kind, as a part, branch, etc.; contributing; as, the Ohio has many tributary streams, and is itself tributary to the Mississippi.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
| APA | Webster's. (2011). tributary. Retrieved September 21, 2026, from http://smartdefine.org/tributary/definitions/2074510 |
| Chicago | Webster's. 2011. "tributary" http://smartdefine.org/tributary/definitions/2074510 (accessed September 21, 2026). |
| Harvard | Webster's 2011, tributary, Smart Define, viewed 21 September, 2026, <http://smartdefine.org/tributary/definitions/2074510>. |
| MLA | Webster's. "tributary" 28 May 2011. Web. 21 September 2026. <http://smartdefine.org/tributary/definitions/2074510> |