| Library / English Dictionary |
DRAINAGE AREA
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
The entire geographical area drained by a river and its tributaries; an area characterized by all runoff being conveyed to the same outlet
Example:
flood control in the Missouri basin
Synonyms:
basin; catchment area; catchment basin; drainage area; drainage basin; river basin; watershed
Classified under:
Nouns denoting spatial position
Hypernyms ("drainage area" is a kind of...):
geographic area; geographic region; geographical area; geographical region (a demarcated area of the Earth)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "drainage area"):
detention basin (a storage site (such as a small reservoir) that delays the flow of water downstream)
retention basin (a storage site similar to a detention basin but the water in storage is permanently obstructed from flowing downstream)
