1. A branch that flows into the main stream
   "The Missouri River is a major tributary of the Mississippi"; "The tributary became a confluent of the larger river";
   - feeder, confluent, affluent

1. (of a stream) flowing into a larger stream
   "The tributary rivers contributed to the main river's increased water level"
    
2. Paying tribute
   "The tributary states paid annual taxes to the empire"

Derived forms: tributaries

See also: obligated, secondary

Type of: branch

Encyclopedia: Tributary, Georgia