sewage
gb/sˈuɪd͡ʒ/ us/sˈuɪd͡ʒ/
B2
English
~ 7800
Senses
0 senses
Noun
B2
entity
1
waste water and human excrement
Dirty water and human waste that go from houses or buildings into pipes under the ground.
Usage pattern:
sewage from [a place]
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes confuse "sewage" with "sewerage." "Sewage" is the dirty water and waste itself, while "sewerage" is the system of pipes that carries it. Learners may also incorrectly use "sewages" as a plural; the word is almost always used as an uncountable noun, without a plural form.
Synonyms
wastewater (Broader and more technical; can include used water that does not contain human excrement, while sewage usually includes toilet waste.)
|
effluent (More formal/technical; often used for liquid waste from factories or treatment plants, not only from homes.)
Antonyms
drinking water (Refers to clean, safe water for people to drink, which is the opposite of dirty water like sewage.)
Collocations
raw sewage
|sewage system
|sewage treatment
|sewage plant
|sewage pipe
|sewage leak
Themes
environment
|infrastructure
|health
|science
|daily_life
|housing
Examples
- Untreated sewage was released into the river after the heavy storm.
- The city is investing millions to upgrade its aging sewage system.
- A break in the main sewage pipe caused a terrible smell in the neighborhood.
- New regulations require factories to clean their sewage before it enters the sea.
- The sewage treatment plant processes thousands of liters of waste water every hour.
Learner examples
- Raw sewage flowed into the lake after the pipe broke.
- The city built a new plant to clean its sewage.
- Sewage from the houses goes through large pipes under the road.
- Workers repaired the sewage line behind our building.
- Sewage must be treated so it does not harm fish and people.
Grammar
Dictionary form
sewage
IPA
GB/sˈuɪd͡ʒ/
US/sˈuɪd͡ʒ/
Syllables & stress
sewage (1 syllable)
Stress on 1st syllable (sewage)
Word forms
Noun
- Base: sewage
- Plural: sewage
Word family
Core family
sewer
noun B2
wastewater
noun B2
Related words
sanitation
noun B2
Advanced or less common
sewerage
noun
Expressions
No expressions linked to this entry yet.