ˈ ̷ ̷ ̷ ̷ˌ ̷ ̷ noun
1. : a channel through which water flows either continuously or intermittently (as seasonally):
a. : a made channel (as a ditch, canal, or aqueduct) for carrying water to or away from a particular place
constructed a watercourse to drain the swamp
b. : a natural channel normally with a definite bed and bounded by banks that is produced wholly or in part by and forms the course of a definite permanent or periodic flow of water
2. : a stream of water (as a river, brook, or underground stream) ; specifically : a natural stream arising in a particular watershed and not wholly dependent on surface water in its own immediate vicinity, flowing in a definite course either along a bed between visible banks or through a definite depression (as a ravine or swamp) in surrounding lands, having a definite and permanent or periodic supply of water and a perceptible current in a particular direction, and discharging at a fixed point into a body of still or flowing water (as a lake, a larger stream, or the sea) or disappearing underground
3.
a. : a right to make use of the flow of a stream and especially of one passing through one's land
b. : a right permitting the receipt of water through or its discharge upon land belonging to another and constituting a legal easement
4. : limber hole