aqueduct
noun
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Based partly on the Latin ducere, meaning "lead" or "conduct," the word aqueduct named an ancient civil-engineering marvel. Ancient Rome's aqueduct system, an extraordinary feat of engineering, brought water to the city from as far as 57 miles (92 kilometers) away. Only a portion of the Roman aqueducts utilized the familiar stone arch; most were underground conduits made of stone or terra-cotta pipe. Modern aqueduct systems now often use reinforced concrete for large water mains, and ductile iron, a stronger and more elastic type of cast iron, for smaller underground pipes.
Synonyms
Examples of aqueduct in a Sentence
Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 6 Nov. 2024
Complicating the water squeeze, the city is repairing a big, leaky aqueduct that carries water from the Catskill region, so residents are relying more on reservoirs in the city’s northern suburbs.
—Alicia Adamczyk, Fortune, 2 Nov. 2024
Residents seized the aqueduct’s control gates and diverted its flow into the Owens River channel.
—Alex Wigglesworth, Los Angeles Times, 29 Oct. 2024
Two billion dollars and a decade later, that new tunnel is ready to connect to the old, and that means shutting the aqueduct off for eight months.
—Christopher Bonanos, Curbed, 5 Oct. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Aqueduct.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/aqueduct. Accessed 30 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
aqueduct
noun
from Latin aquaeductus "aqueduct," from aquae, form of aqua "water," and ductus "act of conducting or leading" — related to duct
Medical Definition
aqueduct
noun
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