effluent

UK: /ˈɛfluənt/ US: (ef′lo̅o̅ ənt)

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

ef•fluent  (ef′lo̅o̅ ənt), adj. 

1. flowing out or forth.

n. 

2. something that flows out or forth;
   outflow;
   effluence.
3. a stream flowing out of a lake, reservoir, etc.
4. Building, Civil Engineering sewage that has been treated in a septic tank or sewage treatment plant.
5. Civil Engineering sewage or other liquid waste that is discharged into a body of water, etc.

• Latin effluent- (stem of effluēns flowing out, present participle of effluere), equivalent. to ef- ef- + flu- flow + -ent- -ent
• 1720–30

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

effluent / ˈɛflʊənt/ noun

1. liquid discharged as waste, as from an industrial plant or sewage works
2. radioactive waste released from a nuclear power station
3. a stream that flows out of another body of water
4. something that flows out or forth

adjective

1. flowing out or forth

Etymology: 18th Century: from Latin effluere to run forth, from fluere to flow