noun · verb · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
/ˈkʌlvə(ɹ)t/
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
CMU ARPABET:K AH1 L V ER0 T
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
A channel crossing under a road or railway for the draining of water.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
verb
Meaning 2
To channel (a stream of water) through a culvert.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: intransitive, transitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
a transverse and totally enclosed drain under a road or railway
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: drain, drainpipe, waste pipe
History
Etymology
Origin obscure, with a number of possible etymologies suggested: * a dialectal word, * a word related to the name of the now-forgotten inventor, * a derivation from French couvert (“covered”), although couvert is not used in this sense and the French translation of culvert is ponceau or buse de drainage, * a derivation from an unrecorded Dutch word, possibly *coul-vaart, a combination of Dutch coul-, from French couler (“to flow”), and Dutch vaart (“a trip by boat, a canal”).
Across languages
Translations
39 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Bulgarian:
водосток
(vodostok)
— channel for draining water
Catalan:
claveguera
— channel for draining water
Catalan:
desguàs
— channel for draining water
Czech:
propustek
— channel for draining water
Dutch:
duiker
— channel for draining water
Dutch:
grondzijl
— channel for draining water
Dutch:
verlaat
— channel for draining water
Dutch:
zinker
— channel for draining water
Esperanto:
tunelponto
— channel for draining water
Esperanto:
torentdrenilo
— channel for draining water
Esperanto:
drenilo
— channel for draining water
Finnish:
siltarumpu
— channel for draining water
French:
ponceau
— channel for draining water
French:
drain
— channel for draining water
French:
buse
— channel for draining water
German:
Düker
— channel for draining water
Ancient Greek:
κορχυρέα
(korkhuréa)
— channel for draining water
Hebrew:
גִּשְׁרוֹן
(gishrón)
— channel for draining water
Hindi:
पुलिया
(puliyā)
— channel for draining water
Hungarian:
vízátvezető cső
— channel for draining water
Hungarian:
áteresz
— channel for draining water
Ido:
ponteto
— channel for draining water
Ido:
ponto
— channel for draining water
Lower Tanana:
tu dodilenhde
— channel for draining water
Māori:
karawata
— channel for draining water
Norwegian Bokmål:
kulvert
— channel for draining water
Norwegian Bokmål:
stikkrenne
— channel for draining water
Polish:
przepust
— channel for draining water
Portuguese:
galeria de drenagem
— channel for draining water
Portuguese:
passagem hidráulica
— channel for draining water
Russian:
водопропускная труба
(vodopropusknaja truba)
— channel for draining water
Spanish:
cloaca
— channel for draining water
Spanish:
tajea
— channel for draining water
Swedish:
kulvert
— channel for draining water
Swedish:
trumma
— channel for draining water
Swedish:
vägtrumma
— channel for draining water
Tagalog:
alkantarilya
— channel for draining water
