Read along with the three podcasts, or open the full dictionary entry for Sewer for the definition, Arabic meaning, synonyms and example sentences.
Narrator: Today's word is "Sewer" — noun, pronounced /ˈsuːə(r)/, with the stress on "sew".
Narrator: A sewer is an underground pipe or tunnel that carries away waste water and human waste.
Narrator: In plain English, it is a drain under the street.
Narrator: It comes from old French seuwiere, a channel to drain a pond.
Narrator: A common collocation is "sewer system", which describes the network of pipes.
Narrator: It differs from "drain", because a drain is smaller and often for rainwater.
Narrator: In a second sense, "sewer" pronounced "SO-er" means a person who sews.
Narrator: Engineering, history, public health and fiction all rely on the word.
Narrator: So remember: a sewer is the pipe below.
Speaker A: Who built London's sewers?
Speaker B: Joseph Bazalgette! SEWER comes from old French.
Speaker A: After the Great Stink?
Speaker B: In 1858.
Speaker A: Example sentences?
Speaker B: "The sewer is blocked", repairs. "Victorian sewers still work", history. "Rats live in the sewers", nature.
Speaker A: Common mistakes?
Speaker B: Say "SOO-er" for the pipe, and "SO-er" for someone who sews.
Speaker A: Close relatives?
Speaker B: Drain is its cousin, culvert its twin, and pipe an alternative — yet sewer keeps its hidden charm!
Speaker B: Let's use "sewer" in AI prompts — useful for maintenance and history.
Speaker A: How for maintenance?
Speaker B: Report faults.
Prompt: Build a form for residents to report blocked sewers with location and photos.
Speaker A: And history?
Speaker B: Stories.
Prompt: Explain how Bazalgette’s sewers ended cholera outbreaks in London.
Speaker A: Could it help planning?
Speaker B: Yes, for capacity.
Prompt: Estimate sewer capacity needed for two hundred new homes.
Speaker A: One more?
Speaker B: Homographs.
Prompt: Explain the two pronunciations of sewer with example sentences.
Sewer — meaning in Arabic & definition More S courses GL Dictionary