Phrase guide

drainage basin

noun · 2 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

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1

noun

Meaning 1

A topographic region in which all water drains to a common outlet; a watershed.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: geography, hydrology, natural-sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: watershed, catchment area, catchment basin

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

the entire geographical area drained by a river and its tributaries; an area characterized by all runoff being conveyed to the same outlet

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • flood control in the Missouri basin

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: river basin, basin, watershed, catchment area, catchment basin, drainage area

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: geographical area, geographic area, geographical region, geographic region

Narrower terms: detention basin, retention basin

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

48 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: водосборна зона (vodosborna zona) — topographic region in which all water drains to a common outlet
  • Bulgarian: водосборен басейн (vodosboren basejn) — topographic region in which all water drains to a common outlet
  • Catalan: conca — topographic region in which all water drains to a common outlet
  • Chinese Mandarin: 流域 (liúyù) — topographic region in which all water drains to a common outlet
  • Czech: povodí — topographic region in which all water drains to a common outlet
  • Czech: úmoří — topographic region in which all water drains to a common outlet
  • Danish: afvandingsområde — topographic region in which all water drains to a common outlet
  • Dutch: stroomgebied — topographic region in which all water drains to a common outlet
  • Dutch: spaarbekken — topographic region in which all water drains to a common outlet
  • Finnish: valuma-alue — topographic region in which all water drains to a common outlet
  • Finnish: vesistöalue — topographic region in which all water drains to a common outlet
  • French: bassin versant — topographic region in which all water drains to a common outlet
  • Georgian: წყალსაკრები აუზი (c̣q̇alsaḳrebi auzi) — topographic region in which all water drains to a common outlet
  • Georgian: წყალსაკრები ფართობი (c̣q̇alsaḳrebi partobi) — topographic region in which all water drains to a common outlet
  • Georgian: მდინარის აუზი (mdinaris auzi) — topographic region in which all water drains to a common outlet
  • German: Einzugsgebiet — topographic region in which all water drains to a common outlet
  • German: Wassereinzugsgebiet — topographic region in which all water drains to a common outlet
  • Greek: λεκάνη απορροής (lekáni aporroḯs) — topographic region in which all water drains to a common outlet
  • Hebrew: אגן היקוות (agán hikavút) — topographic region in which all water drains to a common outlet
  • Hebrew: אגן ניקוז — topographic region in which all water drains to a common outlet
  • Hindi: जलविभाजन (jalvibhājan) — topographic region in which all water drains to a common outlet
  • Hungarian: vízgyűjtő terület — topographic region in which all water drains to a common outlet
  • Indonesian: daerah aliran sungai — topographic region in which all water drains to a common outlet
  • Italian: bacino idrografico — topographic region in which all water drains to a common outlet
  • Italian: bacino imbrifero — topographic region in which all water drains to a common outlet
  • Japanese: 流域 (ryūiki) — topographic region in which all water drains to a common outlet
  • Kannada: ಜಲಾನಯನ ಪ್ರದೇಶ (jalānayana pradēśa) — topographic region in which all water drains to a common outlet
  • Macedonian: слив (sliv) — topographic region in which all water drains to a common outlet
  • Norwegian Bokmål: nedbørfelt — topographic region in which all water drains to a common outlet
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: nedbørfelt — topographic region in which all water drains to a common outlet
  • Polish: dorzecze — topographic region in which all water drains to a common outlet
  • Polish: zlewnia — topographic region in which all water drains to a common outlet
  • Polish: zlewisko — topographic region in which all water drains to a common outlet
  • Portuguese: bacia hidrográfica — topographic region in which all water drains to a common outlet
  • Romanian: bazin de drenaj — topographic region in which all water drains to a common outlet
  • Romanian: bazin hidrografic — topographic region in which all water drains to a common outlet
  • Russian: бассе́йн (basséjn) — topographic region in which all water drains to a common outlet
  • Russian: бассе́йн водоёма (basséjn vodojóma) — topographic region in which all water drains to a common outlet
  • Russian: водосбо́р (vodosbór) — topographic region in which all water drains to a common outlet
  • Russian: водосбо́рная пло́щадь (vodosbórnaja plóščadʹ) — topographic region in which all water drains to a common outlet
  • Slovak: úvodie — topographic region in which all water drains to a common outlet
  • Slovak: povodie — topographic region in which all water drains to a common outlet
  • Spanish: cuenca hidrográfica — topographic region in which all water drains to a common outlet
  • Spanish: cuenca — topographic region in which all water drains to a common outlet
  • Swedish: flodområde — topographic region in which all water drains to a common outlet
  • Swedish: avrinningsområde — topographic region in which all water drains to a common outlet
  • Vietnamese: lưu vực — topographic region in which all water drains to a common outlet
  • Yiddish: באַסיין (baseyn) — topographic region in which all water drains to a common outlet